Why have I not posted in awhile?

Because, really, there's not been a whole lot to post about. I've been working on a schedule for the next year, have to figure out all of the wedding projects I need to get done and schedule them, schedule upcoming shows, big projects, etc... All very dull, but very important for me to be doing. It looks liks this next year is going to be very heavy on wedding projects, and light on new paintings (sorry guys!)

However, for those interested in DIY projects, I'll be sharing those with you over the next year. There will be new art, just not as much as I'd prefer, and also lots of new decals.

Christmas is quickly upon us, and we've got a lot of driving to do. Heading to Houston this weekend, we'll be having gifts at my Dad's on Christmas eve morning, our annual Christmas Eve party at my Mom's, then gifts at my Mom's on Christmas morning. Then we jump in the car and drive 6 hours to Dallas for gifts on Christmas Evening at David's parents. Then, the baby will be visiting her Grandpa for a week, and after that we'll finally have Christmas at home.

While the ink drys

I love painting, and I love all of the different things that each medium brings to the table in art. Oil painting is the one that I have the least experience with, but I really enjoyed the malleability of the paint, the ability to blend and smooth. Acrylic is so versatile, it works not only like itself, but with the correct mediums it can be smooth and workable like oils, or you can use it to tint over areas like watercolor, slowly building color. Watercolor took me a while to get used to, since I was most familiar with acrylic, but once I grasped the basic idea of it, I took off running. I loved the idea of building color, of lots of pale layers building to create impact. All three of these mediums are very workable, they're fairly forgiving, and mistakes are pretty easy to cover.

My second love, after watercolor, is ink. (Shh... don't tell watercolor, but ink is slowly creeping closer to my #1 spot). Ink is not forgiving. Once it is down, that's where it lay. While this may be frustrating for some, I greet it as a necessary element of the process. I absolutely love the little surprises, the trails in the paper the ink will travel, the beautiful and unpredictable way it spreads and tendrils through water.

I sat up last night as I was trying to sleep, and I quickly sketched out a piece of a face, hidden in windswept hair, the slightest curl of a smile on her lips, and I knew that she'd be perfect for today. As soon as Morrigan laid down to nap, I got to work. I was so excited to be working on this piece that I got a bit ahead of myself. I blocked in the figure with just a bit of tinted ink in the background, and then set to working detail in her hair. As I let that dry, I moved to painting a bit of the form in solid black. The silhouette met with a piece of background that was still damp, and the ink began to tendril out into her pale, unformed surroundings. It took only a moment of wide eyed surprise before I jumped to work, blending, adding more ink, moving the paper... the background got a lot of form out of it, all unplanned up till this point, all enchanting.

I pulled out some special paper for this piece, a beautiful cotton watercolor paper that I've been saving for just the right thing. At $40 a book (20 pages), I'm always hesitant to use it, but something about her demanded special attention, so out it came.

I'll most likely have her to share with you this weekend, so keep your eyes peeled!

Black Friday Sale

Anything purchased starting Friday 11/28 at 12:01 AM through Monday 12/01 at 11:59 PM will recieve free shipping plus some free goodies with your order! Just purchase as usual, and I'll refund the the shipping fee through PayPal.

Check out my Etsy shop

If you'd like one of my original paintings, I have to following available:
For Absent Friends (8x10 Framed - $350)
Resting with Angels (8x10 Framed $300)
Victoria and Valentine (8x10 Unframed $300)
And my new, beautiful painting Thy Raven Wings (9x12 Unframed $300)

Go ahead, make me an offer! You'll still get free shipping and some freebies if I accept it!

Have questions? Let me know!

Thy Raven Wings - New Painting!

My new painting is finally finished and listed on Etsy! It's been so long since I've been able to finish anything, since life has dished me up a good deal of crazy these past few months. This was something I started the other day in an attempt to get back on track, and I was so entranced by the image that started to develop under my hands that I felt completely revitalized. I think I'm finally getting my art mojo back ;)

This painting is available through my Etsy shop as an 8x10 print. The original is also available unframed for $300 OBO. It's inkwash and watercolor on watercolor paper. (The original measures 9x12).

Check it out!

I'm getting married!

David proposed to me on my birthday! Now instead of just calling him "The Hubby" I'll mean it too. The proposal was very sweet, and came on the third anniversary of the day we met :D Our wedding day will be October 31, 2009, and we've got a lot to do in the meantime. Of course, since I'm an avid DIYer, I'll be making a lot of the things myself.

So far, my list is:
All of my jewelry (choker and tiara)
My bouquet
Bridesmaid's bouquets (3)
Masks for the parents and wedding party (13!)
Invitations
Less detailed masks for guests who want them (about 50, but I'll just be painting plastic masks for this part)
Favors (haven't decided yet)

I've also scoped out a few Etsy shops that I'll be purchasing from! We're having a masquerade party for the reception. I think it's all going to be a blast.

A bit of catch up!

I've wanted to post so many times over the past few weeks, but I didn't want to bury our lovely dolls until their auction was over! They should be going in the mail today to meet their new families, no later than tomorrow (trying to get car insurance sorted out before I leave the house... it would be my luck).

My birthday is tomorrow! YAY! David's got something special planned :) I'm closer to 30 than 20 now :P



Halloween was a lot of fun. Morrigan is old enough now to go trick or treating, so we dressed her up and took her to the mall where she could run and play with the other little ones and go store to store for candy.

We had such a good time together! I made her little tutu, and we got her wings at the Renaissance Festival last weekend. She was too shy to walk right up to the people for candy, so David and I "flew" her up to each one. She's put her hands up and we'd pick her up and make flying sounds... she loved it :P



I have been such an art slacker recently. Still having a hard time getting things moving. Making another effort today to get some small things done and hopefully give my creativity a kick start.

Light Doll - AUCTION CLOSED! Congrats Nancy!

This auction will END 10-25 at SIX PM Central time (my time). If you want to be notified if you've been outbid, leave me an E-mail address with your bid.

Meet our Light Doll



*EDIT!* Some images were removed after the closing of this auction.

These dolls were a combined effort on the part of several members of the Fantasy Artists of Etsy street team. Each doll comes with a journal that was also handmade from one of our members, that each artisan used to journal their process. The winner of this beauty will truely be getting a piece of art!

All profit from the sale of this doll will benifit Nora and her family while she recovers from medical issues.

Rules: Please only bid in full dollar amounts! You are bidding on the Light Doll only. To place your bid, just comment here. The winner agrees to purchase the doll through Etsy.com at the full bid price, plus an additional $10 for shipping to anywhere in the world. I will refund overcharged shipping as long as it's more than $1 through PayPal. I only accept PayPal as payment. Any questions? Let me know!

SELLING BID - $40
Winner - Nancy!

Dark Doll - AUCTION CLOSED! Congrats Debbi!

This auction will END 10-25 at SIX PM Central time (my time). If you want to be notified if you've been outbid, leave me an E-mail address with your bid.

Meet our Dark Doll




*EDIT* Some photos were removed after the closing of this auction

These dolls were a combined effort on the part of several members of the Fantasy Artists of Etsy street team. Each doll comes with a journal that was also handmade from one of our members, that each artisan used to journal their process. The winner of this beauty will truely be getting a piece of art!

All profit from the sale of this doll will benifit Nora and her family while she recovers from medical issues.

Rules: Please only bid in full dollar amounts! You are bidding on the Dark Doll only. To place your bid, just comment here. The winner agrees to purchase the doll through Etsy.com at the full bid price, plus an additional $10 for shipping to anywhere in the world. I will refund overcharged shipping as long as it's more than $1 through PayPal. I only accept PayPal as payment. Any questions? Let me know!

Winning Bid : $45
Winner : Debbie!

Struggling to work

Having a house full has definately put a damper on the amount of work I've been able to do for the past week and a half. I really really want to be working on that large dragon painting, but there's just no way with my current set up. In the mean time I've started up another fun masquerade themed painting, based on a really old sketch I found in one of my sketch books. I'm going to try to ink it some tonight, it will give me something to do when I take my baby sister out to the coffee shop again.

I think she's really set on moving up to Denton with us for college next year. It would be so great to have her here! She and I have been working on ideas for her to start her own Etsy shop. I make entrepreneurs out of people!

I don't know what I'm going to do when all the kids leave this weekend. (Ok, that's a lie, I'm going to clean my house from top to bottom and drink a beer!) But, I'm definately going to miss having them here.

My exciting week

Last weekend, my parents lost their house to Hurricane Ike. For the past week I've had my two youngest brothers and my youngest sister staying in our little apartment with us, as well as one of my good friends from back home. It's been a cramped week! It's been a lot of fun having the kids over, though cooking for seven in my little kitchen has been a challenge.

I checked online today to see if they would be going back to school on Monday, and no real surprise that they wont be. I called Mom to let her know, and to tell her we'd be happy to keep the kids for another week. The more I hear about the house clean up, the less I think there's going to be much of a house for the kids to go back to. Parents bought an RV so the kids would have some place to sleep, but FEMA has confiscated their generator (I guess it's their job to decide which homeless families deserve power?) So I'm pretty pissed about that.

My youngest brother (10) has apparently lost everything. All of his toys, games, clothes, everything in his bedroom had to be thrown away. My Mom lost all of her clothes too, but she doesn't seem as worried about that as with Tanner having nothing. I'm not looking forward to sending him home to that :(

We're taking them all out tomorrow. They've all been really good, and I'd like to do something nice with them. We have some passes to Six Flags, and most of them have never been on a roller coaster, so that should be a lot of fun.

In art related news, I got a DV cable and a tripod today, so I should be able to start work on the dragon painting soon! I imagine it's going to be slow going this week, but it will be good to get back to work again.

Be a follower :D

Blogger has a great new gadget that allows people to follow your blog! I've added the widget to my bar ->

If you have a blog, be sure to add it too so folks can follow you! This should make it much easier for people to keep up with their favorite blogs.

Recording of the dragon painting is on hold until I can get a DV cord for my cam corder. In the meantime, I'm making art pendants!

Thank Goodness it's Friday

I'm so glad that it's Friday. First up, let me get some business info out of the way:

I'm doing a special give away in my Stickerella shop! Every order over $10 will get a free large orange ETSY decal. I'm doing my part to help spread the word about our great venue in time for the holiday season. It's also a great chance to get a custom shop decal to advertise yourself for the holidays too.

I think I forgot to mention that I've got my coloring books listed now! You can see it HERE

Hubby and I have been brainstorming a new business venture to focus on in time for Christmas craft shows. Supplies have been rolling in the mail, and we can finally start putting things together. That will also mean that we have a new shop to run within the next month, so I'll post more about that soon too. Morrigan is going to stay with her Nana tomorrow so we can spend the whole day working in the studio.

I found a great new band today, and I just have to share. Powerglove. It's a great power metal band that covers old video game music. It's too fun! They're coming in concert this November with Dragonforce (another band I love!) So it may have to be a special birthday present for myself.

I tried to start working on my YouTube video of my newest painting (the dragon I posted before). When I tried setting up my camcorder, I discovered that the cord that I'd need to pull video onto my computer isn't included with the DIGITAL videocamera. Honestly? They included a USB cable so I can pull still photos off (of my VIDEO CAMERA) but not video?? And of course, the DV cable is $30. Grr. So, the painting has to wait till the cable comes in. I've been using this time to refine my sketch though, and I'm really excited about it all.

I am SO tired guys. Thank goodness it's Friday.

Here there be dragons!

I've been back in the studio this week, getting things unpacked and organized, and getting some new work done in all of that chaos as well. I'm working on a new 16x20, and I'm already really enjoying it. I'll be recording the inking and painting process and I'll try my hand at my very first speed painting video! If you don't know what that is, take a trip over to YouTube and do a search for "speed painting". A lot of what you'll see is Photoshop, but there are several "real" (tangible) paintings up there too, and many by other Etsy artists. It basically shows the progression of a painting that took hours and hours to make condensed into a fast-forwarded few minute production.

Here are a few concept sketches so you can see I've not been sitting on my butt doing nothing the past week :P



Dragon yawn! This was the sketch that started me working on this project.



Here's the full concept sketch before I worked out all of the details. The sketch is about 1/4 the size the final painting will end up being.



Our little warrior's armour. I wanted to work out a pretty design that was dragony.

I'm looking forward to working on the full sized painting!

Crazy times!

I haven't updated in awhile, and honestly I've been so busy it's no surprise to me.

We just moved into a larger home, and the hubby and I now have a huge studio. I've been out of town for a few weeks helping with my sister's wedding, so whenever I get home the hubby will have the studio almost completely unpacked and ready for work.

This is a big deal for me. Morrigan is always into everything, and it's been really hard to work since she started walking several months ago. This should really help me paint more and be more productive in all parts of my life.

Also, my little sister got married last night! She looked so beautiful, and months of work from my mom and I came together to one amazing night.

I'm still exhausted. I'll be back home and working again next week, so I'll be updating more often.

Brief Respite - Auction ENDED!

Auction is over! Congrats to twenty pound tabby for winning the Auction! I'll be getting in touch with you tomorrow with your Etsy listing.

Thanks for everyone who bid, and helped out. You're still welcome to purchase a print, and proceeds will continue to go to Nora until we've auctioned off our art doll.



Brief Respite was painted for Nora Blansett, fellow fantasy artist and a member of the Fantasy Artists of Etsy (FAE). Nora recently underwent surgery, and FAE got together and donated a beautiful art doll to auction and make this time a little easier on her and her family. The doll is recieving her finishing touches by one of our talented members right now, so in the mean time I'll be auctioning this original watercolor painting, and all profits will be sent on to Nora as well!

Brief Respite is an original 9x12 ink and watercolor painting.

The auction will end at 11:59PM July 15th. At that time, I'll list the painting on Etsy.com for sale to the high bidder. Shipping to the US is $5. To win, just comment here with your bid. Be sure to check back and make sure you haven't been out-bid. Be sure to include your E-mail address so I can contact you if you're the high bidder.

Bid whole dollar ammounts only.

Current Bid - $40
Current High Bidder - twenty pound tabby

Details


Want to help, but can't afford an original? Buy the print, or bookmark!

Why doesn't Myspace work for me?

This is a little bit rant, a little bit suggestion.

For those of you who frequent the Etsy forums, you may recognize me as the Myspace cheer-leader. Any time someone asks for a suggestion of where to advertise, that's my first suggestion. I've written tutorials, started huge link exchanges, and done whatever I can to make this great marketing opportunity clear and easy for my fellow artisans. Why do I push Mysapce so much? Well, they're not paying me, I can tell you that much. Myspace has worked wonders for me, for both of my Etsy shops. It's easy to set up, it's easy to keep large numbers of people informed, and best of all, it's free!

It is inevitable that every time I mention how great Myspace is in a thread that a hand full of people come along and say "Myspace didn't work for me" "It was a waste of time" etc...

Now - fast forward to yesterday. I've been building a second business page for my vinyl decal shop, and have been taking the time to send individual messages to all of my new contacts. I have been building the page for less than two weeks now, and it's already resulted in multiple custom orders. However, as I was sending messages to my new friends, I noticed that many didn't have a whole lot going on with thier page. Then, I took a peek at people who had yet to accept or deny my friend request. Each one I clicked on hasn't checked their page in over 2 weeks - many haven't checked it in months!

So - What makes Myspace work for me? I tell people it's easy, and it is. But it's still work, and it takes dedication to really make it pan out. So, here are some pointers to get you moving in the right direction.

1) Spend some time setting your page up to best show your work. Try to avoid busy patterns, or loud colors on the background. Lots of flashy graphics may make the page difficult for people to load. Use your Etsy Mini. Write a little bit about yourself, talk about your process, talk about custom orders, give links to other places that they can find you. Give interesting information, but don't give too much.

2) Spend some time adding new friends. I do this in large batches, but if you can't devote 6 hours once every three months to add friends, spend 30 minutes every week or so. The best way to find friends is to look to others who cater to their interests. I friend people who are friends of other fantasy artists, are part of Renaissance groups, or friends of Sci Fi cons that I sell at. This way, a large percentage of people that I'm adding will have an interest in what I do.

3) Check back often. Do not spam people's comments, but it's very accpetable to leave holiday messages, birthday messages, or a very occational "come see what I've got" sort of post. Make your posts something you would click on if you were visiting someone else's page, because this is a great way to hook their friends!

4) Once someone has added you as their friend, send them a message. Don't let them forget you! Talk a little bit about what you do, let them know that you're always happy to do custom work, etc... Invite them to watch your blog so that they'll know when you post something new.

5) When you add something new, blog about it. The best way to make this worth your time is to write the blog, and post it on Myspace, Live Journal, your blog, and any other place it's relevant. Post a bulletin letting people know that you've posted a new blog. This will usually result in a few sales every time!

6) This is most important - check back often, accept new adds, and respond to people's messages. Let people know you're attentive and you care.

Really, it is simple, and it does work. But, it IS work, and it takes time. However, once you take the time to set it up correctly, it takes just minutes to to reach hundreds of people who are interested enough in what you do to have added you in the first place every time you've got something new to share.

Oops :P

Sorry for the huge time gap. I've been working on several new things, and blogging slipped to the wayside for a few weeks.

What am I working on? Well, let me tell you.

World of Warcraft. That's right, I fell into the social abyss that I always swore I wouldn't touch with a 10ft virtual pole. And you know what? I love it. Yep. LOVE it. I "took a week off work" which usually means I work when my husband isn't looking (yeah, I'm a workaholic) but this time I spent seven whole days playing WoW and playing with the baby. It was a much needed break.

I'm getting the apartment ready for a move. We found a place that's much bigger for just a tiny bit more per month, and the most awesome part of this new deal is that the hubby and I will have a HUGE new studio! Now Morrigan can run through the house and play without me chasing her down to pull paintbrushes from her tiny hands, the Living Room will be a Living Room and not do double duty as an office, studio, and music practice room (quadruple duty?) We're 3 weeks away, so there's a lot of packing, cleaning, and culling to do before the big day.

Getting ready for the web show. Web show!?! That's right! Web show. I've been playing with my new camera, and once the new studio is set up and ready to go, I'll be posting speed painting videos each time I post a new painting for sale. For those who don't know, a speed painting is a recording of hours and hours of painting sped up to just a few minutes long, so you can see the process I go through when I work. I'm addicted to watching them on YouTube, and decided I'd start posting my own once I get a good space set up.

Working on a new painting. Yay! I hope to have her done this weekend, and will post the original here to auction. Be sure to check back here to see her.

Now, off to update Etsy Reviews For folks who watch it, I'll be updating twice a week!

A-Kon and the Value of Artists

I just got back from A-kon, and I'll work on doing a write up tonight (we're about to go to the park!)

Right now though, I'd love to address a phenomena that I saw happening around the Artist Alley. There were tons of amazing artists selling their wares. Many of them selling beautiful prints for $4-$5 each, and custom work drawn on the spot for a similar pittance. Now, everyone sets their own price, they were selling oodles of stuff, and it definitely didn't affect my business or anything but this is something I noticed. One morning while setting up super early, I overheard a few artists talking about how many people who were commissioning them were getting very aggravated because they weren't able to instantaneously produce a full piece of work for them when they paid their good $10.

The problem here is two fold. When artists undervalue themselves, people begin to undervalue the artists. When artists are undervalued, people begin to think that what we do is easy, a trivial thing.

After sitting and musing over that around sales, I decided that this was a problem that is just too wide spread for one person to do anything about it. I carried on, and business was good. I almost forgot about the whole conversation.

A few hours later, I had a gentleman come by and browse my table, then ask if I take commissions. I told him that yes, I do, but I don't complete them on site. When he asked how much it would cost to have an ink drawing of an elaborate scene done, I gave him a fair price considering the time and research that would go into what he was wanting, with a little discount because the subject matter was actually very interesting to me and it's something I'll really enjoy working on. He was taken aback, and asked about my pencil prices, and I gave him that quote. Once again he seemed astonished - and why shouldn't he be? Folks throughout the room were charging $5-10 for pencil art of original characters. I explained to him that, unlike many of the great artists in the room, I am a full time artist. This is what I do for a living, and I put a lot of time, and pride in all of my work. He looked around a moment longer, and agreed. We continued talking about his project, and in the end, I walked away with the commission with a fair price paid in advance, and a project that I think he and I are both looking forward to. I think that I earned a good deal of respect from him as well.

The lesson here is this - When you take yourself seriously, other people will as well. Don't be tempted to undersell yourself in a market that's highly saturated with other artists who do the same just to have a chance to compete, but also don't lash out against them. My sincere hope is that each one of them is getting what they actually feel their work is worth, and since I realize many of them are hobbyists, they probably just enjoy that people love their work enough to buy it up, and they're able to make a bit of side cash as well. At the same time, as long as you as an artist charge incredibly low rates for custom work, expect people who don't understand all that goes into it to think that what you do is an easy and trivial thing, whether it is or not.

Big thanks to these great Etsy sellers

With only a week till A-Kon, I've been working my bottom off getting ready. Today, among a slew of other things, I sat and organized four different really awesome raffle baskets. About two months ago I put a call out asking for donations for raffle baskets to carry to A-Kon to help spread the good word about Etsy, and the response was phenominal. The winners will be lucky people indeed!

Here is a list of all of the shops that contributed, you can expect to see some interviews from many of them to start popping up in Etsy Reviews once I get back to updating it next week.

alamodestuff
AlasMyDear
AndromedaDesigns

bagotags
beadbooty
bibliophile
bjeweledbysusan
blandysnorhal

coloradocatniptoys
cooljewelrydesign
crescentwench

DesignByNora
DesignsbyTami
DogmawGlass
dorkdesigns
dzfantasy

fashiongreentbags
FeltLikeStitchin
franticmeerkat
FreakyOldWoman

HandmaidenBC
heartworksbylori
HopeStudios

ItsyBitsyChicago

jkpdesigns
junck

littlelilly
LittleSun

Madhatterspottery
MomentsByMartha
Moodwax
MsKittyFantastico
MsKittyLeftovers
mybellebijoux

NayaDesigns

PhotosByLori
poetsandprophets
PrettyLittleShop

RachelRene
rougepicotenoir

savonara
staceywinters
struckmyfancy

trendytreasures

UniqueCharm

zephi

I'm alive! New painting to share.

Really I am. I've just been running ragged while getting ready for A-Kon. As proof that I'm still up and moving, here's my latest painting! She was inspired by the beautiful Ibex we saw on my Mother's Day trip to the Ft. Worth Zoo.

I've got less than I week before I need to start packing up for A-kon, and several projects I still need to wrap up. In the meantime, I'm going to hold off from updating my Etsy page with new prints until I have a breather after the show. I'll definately let everyone know when I have new things available!

Where have I been?

I've been working my bottom off, that's where ;)

Buttons are made, mirrors are made, but what I've been spending most of my time on is the website! It's coming along by leaps and bounds, but I'm probably going to put it to the side until after A-Kon, just so I don't get pressed for time. Next week I'll be back to work on the coloring book. Just one page left to go!

My little sister will be graduated from Texas A&M with a business management degree this Saturday, so we're heading to College Station tomorrow evening. Mother's Day will most likely be Morrigan's first trip to the Zoo, and Monday is David's job interview! I'm so excited, I really hope he lands this job.

Buttons!

I spent today printing, cutting, pressing, bagging, and labeling BUTTONS!! Yep, pin back buttons. I love them! They turned out beautifully. I'm exhausted though, I made hundreds of the buggers.

So, what's next? MIRRORS! Yay! My supplies should be coming in on Tuesday and I'll get to work on it all. So, when will you see them? Well, if you're coming to A-Kon, you'll see oodles of them on my table. If not, it will probably be some time in June before you'll see them popping up in my shop, unless I magically finish everything I need to get done this month in the next week or two :P I need to figure out how to make a light box so I can photograph all of them.

Now, I'm exhausted. Off to bed!

New things to look forward to!

First up, if you're an Etsy shop owner, be sure to look into getting one of these
custom shop name decals. Advertise while you drive!

I have ordered a button press, and it should be coming in the mail today! I'll have buttons and pocket mirrors featuring my artwork really soon! We'll be cutting and assembling buttons all weekend to get ready for A-Kon, and as soon as I've got time to photograph them, I'll list a handful on Etsy.

I've got a friend coming up to visit this weekend and help with the munchkin so I can get as much painting done as possible.

Somedays...

For some reason today has just been crazy! I think I just woke up and realized I have one month to prep for A-Kon. This may seem like tons of time for people who don't stay home with a rambunctious one year old :P However, I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed. I can guarantee anyone coming to the show though that I will have TONS of goodies to sell, as well as raffle giveaways, and other fun things.

Today I'm cutting decals for orders and for the show, and later I'll be working on inking another 5x7 painting.

If you look at the right hand collumn, you notice a poll. I'd love if everyone took the time to answer it for me! I'm working on the info for myself and several other interested artists.

Drabardi

This is the other 5x7 I was working on. I was playing with depth in the background, and I'm not sure it shows terribly well on screen, but the print and the original painting show all of the detail and I'm tickled pink about the results. I was working on something similar with the wood sprite I posted the other day, but the intent there was to have a well layered, soft background. On both of them I was playing around with masking fluid. I really like the depth it gives the background without me having to overwork the paint.


See More

Wood Sprite

I've got a new print available in my shop!



Buy a Print

Library

Well, after a few days at the coffee shop, I decided to give me caffiene levels a break and head over to the library to work instead.



I've been getting out of the house to work when my husband gets home at night, hoping it would encourage me to relax and be more productive. So far so good. Not sure where I'll be headed tonight, most likely the library again. After A-Kon I'll be able to relax and take my time with painting again, as well as start on some new projects. In the mean time I'm working on a few new Victoria paintings and giving the coloring book a little break.

I'm having fun with the picture posts. Once I move into a larger studio space I'm planning on doing some video posts. Wee!

Hard at work

I've been hard at work - drinking coffee and inking coloring pages. One day I'll come off this caffiene high...

There's been a lot on my mind

I've been incredibly busy recently, and my mind has been running 1000 miles a minute. I've got A-Kon in a month and a half, and I bought my pass yesterday. I've been getting merchandice ready slowly over time, which was the plan. I'm working on that coloring book, and my goal is to have it done at the end of this week. I hope to have the Fairy Tales and either a Gothic Lolita or Mermaid book in time.

There's another line of merch I'd like to have there, but I'm still working on all of that.

Other things that have been on my mind? Well, there has been some talk of someone wanting me to paint a mural, which I'm really excited about. I would love to do something like that, and have been thinking of advertising to do it after A-Kon.

Also, we're talking about moving some time soon, and I'm dreaming big about having a separate room for my studio, instead of painting in a corner of the living room. I think that I'll set up a work cam, to give me something more to blog with, because I know I love to watch other artists while they work.

Ah well, enough going on here. I've got work to do!

Coloring book, update 2

I've got the main image for all five coloring pages sketched, and have sketched out the border for Snow White. I really love it, I think it's a great expression of as much of the story as possible.

Tomorrow I'll be working on Red Riding Hood's border, and transfering both pictures to my bristol paper to carry to Houston this weekend. My sister's engagement party is in Galveston Saturday, so the whole day will be visiting with 100+ relatives, friends, and soon to be relatives, drinking beer, eating BBQ and crawfish, and having a good time before coming home and getting back to work.

Next update will be on monday. Please continue to vote, and I'll be checking in on you!

Coloring books

As everyone who's visited my page recently has no doubt noticed, I've got a poll over in the right hand collumn that everyone's wellcome to take part in. I have been playing around with making some coloring books for grown ups for awhile, and I thought A-Kon would be a great place to carry some. I will be doing work on all of those over time, but I'm looking for the ones that have more draw to put out first. I really think that when I introduce my cute little witches people are going to go nuts (I love them so much) but for the time being I started sketching out some fairy tales, since that is what's ahead.

Right now I'm working on the most common fairy tales, though I may do another set down the road that's a bit darker and more of a Grimm's take on things.

Basically, each coloring "book" is going to consist of 5 detailed 8x10 lineart drawings. They will be printed on the same 8.5x11 heavy bristol vellum that I do my line drawings on, since it's a beautiful smooth paper to work on. They'll be packaged together in a resealable plastic bag (like you find comic books in) with an acid free card board backing. I decided not to bind them so they're easy to pull out and work on one at a time, and can be framed without any hassle.

I've got the sketches for four of the five Fairy Tale pages mostly finished. Tomorrow I'll work on the last, and start refining them, and transfer them to nicer paper to be inked. The first package will be Snow White, Red Riding Hood, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, and Rappunzel. The way I've drawn them is really very neat, since each page tells quite a bit about the story. There is a focal 5x7 image that shows one of the most memorable moments in the story (oddly, I chose scenes that are all at a moment of change, something I didn't notice until now) then around the central image is a wide boarder that will be filled with other symbols that you'll find in each story. Two of the drawings are heavily influenced by two paintings I did over a year ago that I never did much with. I've gone back and redrawn them and really like the way they're going. I think we're all going to have a blast coloring these together!

What a week!

After Aggiecon (which was a lot of fun by the way) I decided that I needed a week off before I got to work for my next convention (and last for the year). I spent the week playing with Morrigan, and setting up my new shop. Yeah, I know that's still working, but it was something that needed to be done.

I'm now offering custom cut vinyl decals. I've got two on my car now, one for each of my shops, and have already started to get a response. I'm doing custom decals for one band, and a few small groups. I'd love to take on several more large jobs, and as many small jobs as you guys can throw at me:

http://stickerella.etsy.com

In the meantime, I'm back in the studio. This week I'll be working on coloring book pages for a fantasy themed coloring book meant for grown ups. It will be rated G, but there will be a lot of detail, and it will be printed on nice paper, meant for relaxing and coloring by adults. I love to color still, and I know there have to be others out there like me.

It's good to be back, and I'll be posting regularly for awhile now!

Getting ready for the weekend

I'm getting things ready for Aggiecon today. Gathering paintings, bagging, labeling, filling out paperwork. I took and framed Ravens Land and Wolfhearted yesterday, and they look absolutely beautiful. I'll be putting both in the auction this weekend, and if Wolfhearted doesn't sell, I've got a buyer who I'll deliver it to after the show.

I still have quite a bit to do today. I need to finish getting artwork ready and boxed, pack for me, David, and Morrigan, cook dinner, get David's clothes ready for an interview tomorrow, and clean clean clean.

David has an interview tomorrow for a great job. It would be incredible if he got this, so I've been working on his resume and getting things together for him. I know he's a bit anxious about it all (not nervous, just excited) so I'm trying to get everything done tonight so we can load it up in the car, and just relax tomorrow. We'll go out for a nice breakfast, have his resume printed on some super nice paper, and drive out there. Wish him luck!

Wolfhearted

This is another 16x20 painting that I'll be taking to AggieCon this weekend. I will be offering a very small Limited Edition run of 16x20 prints of this painting. Be sure to message me if you'd like to be personally notified when it's available!

In the meantime, I've got open edition 8x10 prints for sale in my Etsy shop

Wolfhearted





Buy the Print Here

Ravens Land - Gothic Painting

This original painting is actually 16x20, and I will be offering 16x20 limited edition prints of this later. Please message me if you're interested in being put on the waiting list for one of these 16x20 signed, numbered, limited edition prints.

In the meantime, you can purchase the open edition 8x10 prints in my Etsy shop.

Ravens Land



Buy the 8x10 Print Here

It's Just a Little Rain

Victoria is back! She and Valentine take a walk in the drizzling rain under her red umbrella.

This beautiful painting will be coming with me to AggieCon this weekend, but if you're not going to be able to make it and would like to purchase the framed original before it's open for auction, send me a message!

As always, you can purchase prints from my Etsy store

It's Just a Little Rain



Buy the 8x10 Print Here

Oh the things I do...

So, I was working on a really large painting last night, and I have absolutely loathed working on this painting, so I was seething while I painted. It was a good idea when I started, a really large scene with a pretty Celtic woman and a pack of wolves, but I didn't lay the painting out very well. I didn't realize when I did my first sketch, and it didn't become evident until I put the painting down for a month and picked it back up to finish it. There is one really beautifully composed section, with the woman holding a wolf cub, and a wolfy companion. The other half of the painting just looked tacked on, and I kept working on it hoping that it would come around and start feeling like a valid addition to the painting, but to put it crudely it just felt like I was polishing a turd. So, I called up the guy that expressed an interest in buying the painting, and told him what I was thinking. "You're the artist!" he replied, and I jumped up and attacked it with an Exacto knife. Cut the 22x28 into a 16x20, and I absolutely love it. I began to work on it again with returned vigor, and it felt so good! It turned from something I was dreading handing to someone to something I'm going to be really proud of. I had to cut out one of my favorite parts of the painting, but the overall image is so much better.

In other news, I've been featured in another Etsyans blog! You can read my feature and check out her other writing here: http://www.silverriverjewelry.blogspot.com/

Sleepy, rainy day

It's been raining all day, and I've been very sleepy. I'm looking at a large painting that's almost done, I've been working on it on and off for several months now, it always gets pushed aside for other things because of the sheer size of it. Most paintings I can finish in 2-3 days, but this one has several weeks of work in it. I'm going to finish it tonight come hell or high water (if it keeps raining like this, high water may not be out of the question) Tomorrow I've got another large ink wash painting that is almost done that I need to wrap up, then I'll work on some smaller things to carry on to AggieCon.

I'm really hoping that AggieCon is a good one this year. I'll definately have a write up once it's over.

My vinyl cutter never got shipped out (which really peeves me off). They say my order must have "slipped through the cracks" so it shipped out yesterday. I hope to have it by the end of the week so I can get my business logo on the back of my car before the show.

I'm home!

I spent the last week down near Galveston helping my family get ready for my little sister's wedding. We got a great deal done, took Kitty to choose her wedding dress, bought all the stuff for table centerpieces, and my Mom and I sat for two days making all of the favors. I'll probably end up writing a good deal of Associated Content articles inspired by our adventures in wedding work.

My baby girl Morrigan had her first birthday Friday, and celebrated on Saturday with her GG (Great Grandma) who had her 73rd birthday. It was really special for me to have the two of them celebrate together.

I'll be spending the next two weeks getting ready for AggieCon, then I'm going to focus on some different projects. I'll be getting ready for A-Kon, then I think I'll take a break from shows for a few months while I concentrate on catching up with my stuff online and work on art projects I want to advance. I'd like to finish the Zodiac, work on more Victoria pieces, open up three new product lines, and possibly start a book illustration project. I've also got to work on Kitty's wedding invitations, Morrigan's scrap book, and in a few months I'll be working on Kitty's wedding scrapbook as well.

Busy busy!

New article about Etsy

I wrote an article about Etsy and published it online:

Etsy: A Great Place to Buy and Sell All Things Handmade

It explains the site to potential buyers and sellers. The more viewers that visit it, the higher it will rise in the ranks, and the better chance it has of getting on the front page of the site!

I've been working on getting some clay and resin art pendants made that I like enough to sell, and I think I may have figured something out that really looks great. I'm making a small batch of them right now, and if they work out I should have some to post at the end of the month. This is the fourth thing I've tried, and if it doesn't work out I think I'll end up throwing it at something :P

I'll be out of town all next week, so any order placed between now and Sunday will be shipped out on Monday March 17th.

Laila

I have another beautiful gothic painting for you guys today, and I hope you love her as much as I do.

Meet Laila



5x7 watercolor and india ink on watercolor paper
Buy the print HERE

The original will be up for auction at Aggiecon, but if anyone wants to grab her up before hand, just send me a message. The original is $45.

Also, I'll be out of town all next week. If you place an order between Friday March 7th, and Sunday March 15th, I'll ship on Monday the 16th.

Lots of new things

I've got two new paintings that I'll be posting tomorrow. They're really beautiful, and I'm very happy with them both.

I've also been working on plans for new products. I finally bought that Roland vinyl cutter, so I'll have vinyl decals of some of my drawings for the back window of your car. I'm also working on making some tote bags, and each one will be completely unique. Last project I'm working on are polymer and resin pendants of my artwork, so they can be used as pendants or keychains.

I'm hoping to have a really productive week. I've already fallen behind on my ACEO a day, so I'm going to just work on doing as many as I can. I was afraid when I started it that it would be too much to do with everything else, but at least I'm always busy!

Free Shipping

Hey there folks! I'm working to raise up some money for something pretty important, so I'm running a special for the next week. Anyone who purchases between now and Thursday March 6th gets free shipping anywhere in the US! If you're out of the US I'll discount shipping, so convo me for details. I'll toss freebies in with everything too, so if you've been browsing now's the time to buy it up!

When you buy, don't follow through with the Paypal payment and I'll send you a revised invoice.

Feeling kind of crummy

I'm feeling crummy today, not sick, just in a poor mood. I've been trying to paint all day since the small one is with her Grandma today, but haven't gotten a lot done. I think the best thing for me today is just to stop trying and take a break.

I'll make up for missing the art card a day post tomorrow (lol, I knew keeping a daily post was going to be hard for me, but I always dream big).

I think I may pull out my old Play Station and see about playing Legend of the Dragoon. I remember playing it back in Highschool, and it's a pretty awesome RPG.

Eye candy from the game:



This is Rose, also my favorite character from the game. I always seem to fall in love with the dark female in games like this, and it's never the "love interest." It's sort of aggrivating that the love interest in RPGs is always some weak dingbat type female, the strong, mysterious, interesting female is always just a side character. Oh well.

What I was working on last week

I've got three new paintings that I finished last week to share with you. I really love all of these.

Caitlin



Mara



Luna



If you're interested in any of the original paintings, E-mail me! battlemaidenart@yahoo.com They're $45 each, or you can purchase a print from the links above.

Cthulhu - Art Card a Day

Something completely different from yesterday's theme, today I bring you the Great and Dread elder god, Cthulhu himself. These were a lot of fun to draw up.

You can purchase both of these cards on the Lovecraftian Creatures section of my ACEO gallery




Day 2, 363 to go!

In other news, our little ratty, Lily died this weekend, and we're watching Morticia (her cagemate) to make sure that whatever was wrong with her isn't catching. I think that Tish is going to be okay though, and we're going to be looking for another companion for her. Lily was an albino feeder rat, not even a year old. She got sick very quickly, and passed on quickly too. It was really sad, I hate losing pets.

I spent a good deal of the day working on things online, sketching up new art cards, and playing with my baby. She's figured out that peek-a-boo is a fun game. I'm trying to come up with a good list of ACEO themes, so I can keep mixing it up and also build on all of the themes over time. I'm happy to take suggestions!

Geisha - Art Card a Day

I've started a new project that I hope to keep up for the next 365 days. Every day for the next year I'll be posting anywhere between one and three original collectable art cards (ACEOs or ATCs). I'll be posting links here daily, so be sure to check in to see what's new. All of these will be posted to a new section of my website, which will be slowly growing over time. I'll still be keeping my prints, bookmarks, and other goodies like that inmy Etsy store, but all of my original paintings will be heading over to my website. Each day will have a theme, and I'll be adding to all of the theme galleries over the year.

I'm starting off my Art Card a Day project with three beautiful Geisha girls. To purchase any of these art cards, check out the Geisha Gallery





Art Cards are small pieces of art the size of collectable trading cards, which measure 2.5x3.5. They can be originals or reproductions (all of mine are originals). ACEOs are highly collectable and tradeable.

For more information on artist trading cards, read more here

Day 1, 364 to go!

It's official!

I've been holding on to this news for a few days (though it threatened to make me explode with anticipation). I got verification yesterday that I will most definately be selling in the Artist Alley at A-Kon in Dallas. This is big news for me, since I'm just starting to do shows. For everyone heading to A-Kon, be sure to come by and say hello! I'll be sitting at my table for at least 12 hours a day.

I've got a lot of work to get done before then, so I better get off to it! I've got a new post for everyone tonight, so be sure to check back!

*Comes up for breath*

I've been so busy recently! I found a vinyl cutter and should have it in a week or two, so I'm very excited about that. Now I'm looking for a good button press. Finished another painting today. Once I get a moment to breathe I'll post prints of the newer ones up.

Got news that I may be at a pretty huge convention. I'll be sure to let folks know if it works out, in the meantime I won't say more than that.

Sister in law's wedding is this weekend, so I'll probably be scarce until Sunday. Monday will bring several new paintings, and the beginning of my Year of Artcards project! Wee!

Cleaning House

I was flipping through my portfolio and realized I was still holding on to the originals to all of the Zodiac paintings I’ve done so far! I’m not listing them on my Etsy shop, since my originals travel with me to shows, but I will offer them up here for anyone who’s interested.

They are painted on 90lb 8.5"x11" watercolor paper, but were painted to be matted and framed down to an 8x10. If you’re using a mat, I would suggest an 11"x14" frame, otherwise you can cut it down to fit right into an 8x10.

Each painting is $200. I will frame it for you for an additional $60, I use all acid free framing materials. Just E-mail me at battlemaidenart@yahoo.com to snag one of these beautiful original paintings for yourself! They would make a great birthday gift for a friend too. Shipping for the paintings will be $10 in the US. Let me know if you're out of the states and I'll calculate shipping. Also, if we frame I'll need to calculate shipping for you.

Signs available:
Virgo:


Leo


Scorpio


Cancer


And Capricorn

To purchase prints, or read the symbolisim behind each painting, visit the Zodiac Prints section of my Etsy Store

What a day

I've gotten a great deal of painting done today. Two new 5x7s that I've really fallen in love with, one that I'm sort of attached to already. I'm taking them to the show this weekend, and if they don't sell, I'll list them on Etsy. Either way, there will probably be prints available too.

I'm working on another new project - I'm trying to really get myself into being productive with painting, so I've set myself a goal of painting 3 ACEOs a day as well as working on larger paintings. My goal is to list 3 a day for the next year. It's a pretty big goal, but I hope that it will help us raise money for some important things (like paying off hospital bills!)

In short, next week will mean tons of new artwork!

Going to get some work done!

Tomorrow, my mother in law is taking Morrigan for the day, and I'm going to have the house all to myself for 8 hours. I'm going to get SO MUCH painting done, I'm so excited! This also means I'm taking the day away from the computer, so that I can completely focus on my work. I'm looking at doing one new ink wash, one small fairy painting, and several new ACEOs. I've definately got a full plate, but I'm looking forward to what I can get done.

Masquerade

In the middle of all of the hectic stuff that's been going on recently, I've managed to get these four really cool paintings finished. I've spent every spare minute over the past week working on them, and I'm really happy with the way they've turned out.

These four new paintings are classified as Original Small Works of Art, or OSWOA™, and measure 4x6. These are the original watercolor illustrations, and will be signed and packaged in clear bags with a heavy acid free backing, and shipped to you in a heavy cardboard mailer. Shipping in the US is $6 and includes delivery confirmation and insurance.

Masquerade I

Detail:



4"x6" Watercolor and ink on watercolor paper

Masquerade II

Detail:



4"x6" Watercolor and ink on watercolor paper

Masquerade III

Detail:



4"x6" Watercolor and ink on watercolor paper

Masquerade IV

Detail:



4"x6" Watercolor and ink on watercolor paper

Thank you for looking!

Original paintings

I don't tend to list original paintings in my Etsy shop for several reasons, and have been trying to get my website built so that I can keep them all up there. In the meantime, I think I'm going to start listing original paintings for sale here in my blog.

You'll still be able to buy all of my other stuff in my Etsy store (prints, bookmarks, stickers, etc...) but I'll be working on listing all of my originals here over the next few weeks. I'll have a link where you will be able to find them all easily without having to search through the whole blog, and "buy it now" type buttons so that you can safely purchase through paypal.

I just finished four new paintings that I'll have up here tonight!

*edit* I tried all that mess out with paypal buttons, and it doesn't seem that blogger likes the code. So, I just listed them up on Etsy, and will get on the hubby to hurry and get the website put together so I don't have to mess with it any more!

One day, you will be mine

Oh Roland Stika, why are you so elusive?



I've been looking for a reasonably priced, used Roland Stika SX8 for months now, and the *one* I found on E-bay was bought out from under me before I could click the buy it now button. I was so excited, and then completely devastated :P

One day... one day that Stika will be mine, and I will be a vinyl cutting goddess.

Conventions are hard work

I spent several years in College working a Sci Fi Convention, as general help, Guest Relations, and then Director, and one thing is for sure, it's a LOT of work. I didn't realize how much work goes into getting ready for a convention as an artist though.

I'm really looking forward to Con DFW. I've almost got everything put together. Eventually I'll have time to get new artwork done, but the next six weeks will be crazy, so I'm afraid it's going to be sparse until the second half of March. I have four small ones I'm working on that I hope to finish soon. There's also a very large custom piece I'm working on that I may offer prints of.

Looking forward to a nice Valentines night with the hubby. He's due home in an hour, and the small one has made a huge mess of herself. I suppose I should start getting ready!

My other projects

I'm going to make an effort to blog here more often, and not just when I've got new artwork to share.

I've got a few other blog projects that I'm always working on. You can find links to all of them under my icon to the left. Almost all of my other blogs depend on the input of folks just like you!

Postcard Poetry
Postcard Poetry is my newest baby. At this point, there are no submissions posted (because it's brand new!) but the idea is to have anonymous artists, photographers and writers submit postcard sized artwork with poetry incorporated in the art. I'm really excited about this idea, and hope to have some new submissions to include.

Dark DIY
Dark DIY is where I compile gothy or alternative themed DIY tutorials that I find from around the web. All tutorials are used with permission from the original authors, and link to the original author's personal website when it's available. Right now there are lots of clothing and hair tutorials, but I'd love to include accessories, home decor, and other things like that.

Etsy Reviews
Etsy Reviews features an Etsy store every few days. I do an interview with the store owner, and write and article that gives a more in depth look at the artists behind their beautiful creations.

Now, on top of all four of these blogs I have to make sure to keep time to paint! I'm working on four small paintings right now that I fall more and more in love with every day I work on them. I hope to be able to share them with everyone soon!

Been busy!

I've been really busy recently. I'm trying to finish a large custom painting to ship out next week. For those in the DFW area, I'll have original art and prints available at the ConDFW art show Feb 22-24th. Unfortunately, I wont be there personally. My sister in law is getting married that weekend!

I've been blogging a lot recently. I've got two other blogs that I try to update often, and eventually I'll figure out a schedule so that I can keep up with everything. I'll put links up in the side bar for easy access.

I'm going to be working on some new Art Cards this week, so I should have new stuff to post next week.

For Absent Friends

For Absent Friends



"The memories that now rest in this forest
Forever shadowing the sunrise of my heart
Wings leave their nest at my coming
Swaying away unto the cold glowing sky
Dreaming away for a while
My spirit sighs in peace
Gazing unto the stars
Please, take me there"
~"The Forest Of October" Opeth

Ink and watercolor on watercolor paper.

I listened to a whole lot of Opeth while I worked on this painting :D

Buy the Print Here
Buy the Bookmark Here

Victoria and Valentine

I am so happy to introduce you all to my favorite new character, Victoria. She will be showing up in several paintings over the next few months. Today she is recieving a new arrival, Valentine. I would love to hear your thoughts on her, she's quite a bit different from what I typically do.

Victoria and Valentine



"Thou wast all that to me, love,
For which my soul did pine-
A green isle in the sea, love,
A fountain and a shrine,
All wreathed with fairy fruits and flowers,
And all the flowers were mine."
To One in Paradise
~Edgar Allan Poe

Victoria perches on her wooden swing with her new arrival, the lovely feline Valentine.



Buy the 8x10 Print Here
Buy the Valentines Card here

If you are interested in the framed original, she is available for $300. Message me for details!

Fall Fae

As promised, a new painting for my favorite season! I would love to hear your comments. I am offering free shipping on this print for the month of October! Also, every order over $20 (before s/h) gets a free gift till the end of the month.

Fall Fae







Buy her HERE

Visit my shop


Thank you as always for looking!
~Valorie