Whimsical Wednesday: Newer girls

It’s been a while since I shared some girls, so here are two I worked on during the fall:

Big Dreamer Girl

Lesson Girl

I’m taking a little break from creating this week so I can catch up on orders, inventory wrap-up and shop maintenance but hope to get back to the “softer” girls I was once creating.  I still think we can take a couple cues from these girls.

Hope your first week of the New Year is going swell!

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Unearthing from scrap piles

Sorry guys; it sucks not being able to share my artwork with you right now but it’s a necessary evil in order to launch a new portfolio for the Atlanta gift show in January.

But I’m still a creating fool…creating about 20 pieces a week (or about 60+ hours a week, not including working on orders for my shop).  It’s tiresome but exhilarating to be creating so much.  The house is still a crazy mess covered in paper piles, bottles of matte medium and tubes of paint…

Ah, but it’s all good.

I’m pushing past my creative boundaries and trying bright colors…

But still sticking to my earthy vintage hues that I love…

Still using vintage stamps…

And trying new styles yet also keeping to my inspirational themes…

I was really hoping to create some new stuff for my shop but frankly, I’m running out of time, but it’s still a hope!

Thanks for following me along and as soon as I can share more, I will…promise!

It’s supposed to snow up here this weekend, so I’ll be sharing pics if it does!  Have a great weekend everyone ♥

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Bringing life to a sketch

So today I thought I’d share a little bit about my process since I’ve created more in the past month than I have in the past 3 or 4 months!

First, can you tell I’m craving cooler weather?  Ha!  Actually it was only 34 degrees when I woke at 7am (so I’m sure it got to below freezing last night) and today was spent in flannel PJ’s (oh happiness!), so I made a fall girl and also a winter girl.  And I’m also craving seasonal holidays, so I’m having fun creating lighter, more whimsical girls at the moment (but my serious toned, inspirational-themed girls aren’t going anywhere!).

I’ve shared this before (almost a year ago now) but most people are surprised to learn that my girls (or any pieces for that matter) are assembled piecemeal (in true collage form!) and my girls are colored in with pencils rather than paints (I have a couple that were painted but I can’t seem to get the shading right and they seem to look less warm than when I used colored pencils).

First I sketch out my girls on my sketch pad with a regular ol’ pencil.

Then I color in with my pencils.  This (combined with the initial sketch) takes me a good hour.  Luckily I can do this on the couch while watching TV.

Then I move onto my background which varies depending on what I’m feeling like doing, but combines decoupage (glue and paper), paint, inks, charcoal and oil pastels.  Lots of layering goes on in this stage.  Once it’s dry, I scan it (a new thing for me since I’ve gotten into licensing; my agent recommended I scan my images at different levels – called layered scans – in the event a manufacturer wants a background and not the girl or the girl without the background, etc.).

I embellish my girl with paint, markers, pencils, stamps or plain ol’ paper (here’s a cautionary tale if you’re a collage artist wanting to get into licensing – don’t use patterned or scrapbook paper!  While it may work for a small scale artist/crafter, you can’t use it for large scale reproduction; tough lesson for me to learn!).  I scan this girl too.

I then layer my girl on top of the background and do some touching up.  I then scan again before adding words in case a manufacturer wants to use my girl without words or with their own.

Finally I add some edging, some shadowing, add my words and signature stamp.  And yes I scan again!

This whole process takes about 3-5 hours.  Today I did two girls and together they took about 7 hours.  I also spent about 5 hours on shop related tasks/creating products/putting together orders, so it was about a 12 hour day.  Still beats a day at the office any day!

Hope you enjoyed this little peek into my artistic process.  Anything here surprise you?

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Whimsical Wednesday: New “Wings” series

Oh my, time is flying.  Why is it that the days seem shorter?  Why am I so behind?  Is it bad that my suitcase from my trip to CT two weeks ago is still sitting on the floor…unpacked?

Ahem.

I went to the antique store yesterday and am out of my mind with ideas.  Creative inspiration is not an issue here, just time!  (more on what I found there later this week)

Okay, so as mentioned on Sunday, I did quite a few pieces on Saturday, including 2 pieces from a new series I’ve been wanting to do for a while that focuses on the theme of the Law of Attraction.  As I’ve stated before, I consider myself a student of the Law of Attraction.  It continues to work in my life, so I wanted a way to include it in my artwork.

And all my Oprah pieces have been sold so I decided to continue making more (have about 10 more to do), so I did this one but have decided it’s WAAAAAY too green, so I’m going to have to redo it, so consider this only a “first draft.”

It sure is GREEN!  Hoo-wee!  I’ll repost once I fix it.  I think it’s good to not only post the good stuff but also the not-so-good!

Anyhow, that’s what I’ve been up to on the art front.  I have a bit of new blog material that I’ll be posting this week, so perhaps the writer’s block will be coming to an end?  If only the universe will create more time perhaps. 

Hope you’re having a great week!

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Whimsical Wednesday – New girl and upcycled photo frames

After taking a couple weeks off from painting for my trip back home, it was nice to get back to creating and this past weekend I painted a new girl, Sunny Girl:

And, I had been wanting to create some collage photo frames out of ones I found at my favorite thrift shop.  They each have a different theme and can be customized/personalized.

As much as I love to paint new girls/cakes/hearts, I really love to collage items giving them a new life.  I can’t be kept away from glue and papers for long.  It’s like I’m a perpetual pre-schooler.

I’ll be putting all these items in my shop in the near future.  My Oprah mosaics are gaining popularity and I’m itching to do some more pin-ups, so you can expect to see those type of items in the upcoming week!

Thanks for seeing what I’m up to.

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Friday Shop Update

I’ve got some exciting shop news going on this week.

First, I just learned that my Gratitude Mosaic will be included in an upcoming issue of Cloth, Paper, Scissors, a magazine that’s popular with mixed media artists.  This one I didn’t even submit to but my photo was found and the Asst. Editor liked the message behind it.  I gifted it to my sister to help remind her to count blessings when things get tough and to “Grow Flowers of Gratitude in the Soil of Prayer”

Then I also got word this week that my Heartsy deal was approved and will be featuring sometime in July…I’ll be sure to let you know when that is, but keep in mind it’s a one day deal only (like Groupon) so if you want to get in on the deal, check back often or subscribe so you don’t miss out!

And then I’ve got another wholesale account in the works which contributes to a big goal of mine for this summer, especially getting into local boutiques/shops.

It’s all been busy but good!  And here’s what’s new in the shop this week (mostly new options of older images, but I’ve got some previously unreleased originals newly listed as well as a fun new circus-inspired box set):

If you’re curious to see these items, you can go to my shop.  Thanks for taking a peek; have a great weekend everyone! ♥

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Friday Shop Update (and help me get a spot on a “Groupon-like” deal!)

This week I’ve added quite a few new options to my art shop, including several note card packs and my 16×20 Growing Slowly Original:

And the 5×5 and 8×8 mats that I custom ordered came in!  It’s strange that you can easily find square frames at Target, Michael’s, Amazon, but finding square mats is quite difficult (and expensive) so I had some custom made so that I could offer customers and easy and affordable option for matting my square images.

David, who I affectionately refer to as my CIO (Chief Information Officer)  is revamping my website and made me a new banner/logo for my art shop:

He’s grrrrrrrrrrrrreat!  He’s also my CFO and handles all my bookkeeping, accounting, taxes.  I’m VERY fortunate to have his assistance and tech/finance experience.  He often comments that soon I’ll need to put him on payroll…

Now, about that “Groupon-like” deal.  You’re probably aware of Groupon/Living Social – sites that offer coupons at 50% off or more at spots in your local area?  Well, the art/craft world has something similar called Heartsy.  Basically artisans/crafters offer a one-day deal to buy a voucher to use in their store at a value of at least 50% off.  It’s a steep discount but small businesses use these kinds of deals to bring traffic and new customers to their shop.  There’s not a lot of room for profit at these steep discounts but shop owners see it as a valuable marketing tool.

I’ve been hemming and hawing for the past couple of months on whether to participate or not.  But after talking to a fellow artist who participated a month ago and raved about the experience, I’ve decided to take the leap and submit my work for consideration.  The next step is getting votes from people in the community.  I have to get a minimum of 60 “yes, definitely!” votes to even be considered but even then only those with the most votes total (beyond the 60) have the best chance of being featured (as there are hundreds of shops that vie for a spot).

So, with that said, if you’d be interested in being able to purchase my goods at a 55% discount or even if you’re not but want to support me in my endeavors, here’s where you can vote:

Thanks for supporting me and helping me get my line out to more folks!

And finally, with David’s tutelage, I finally figured out how to print UPCs for my products.  The process was a little overwhelming for a lil’ homebased business trying to figure out how to print a bar code for a couple items, but now we’ve got it down and I was giddy.  I know it seems like such a geeky thing, but having a bar code is a big step and I’m very excited to start approaching boutiques and stores!

And that’s about it for this week

Thanks for taking a peak at what I’m up to ♥

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Whimsical Wednesday: More Pin-Ups and 2 New Girls!

It was a productive week for me with artwork and moving my art shop along.  It’s great having one primary focus right now and I’m getting a lot done from not splitting my attention amongst 4 shops.

I got a whole new batch of pin-up collages completed…these ladies are sooooo fun to work with.

I also managed to get 2 new girls completed this week, this one I’m naming Inventive Girl:

She’s juggling a lot but doing what she can…

And here’s my other girl; I love this saying:

She is a Strong Girl

I’m planning on doing more hearts and/or cakes next week.  My portfolio is nearing 100 pieces…which I’m pretty pleased with considering I’ve only been painting less than a year.

My friend Jennifer over at Babee Crafts recently ran a blog giveaway with shops that do good and she featured me.  If you’re interested in learning more about me, you can read this lovely bio she pulled together of me.  Thanks Jennifer!

Now that I’m more organized, I plan on doing a lot more giveaways on this blog in the future (and not just ACEO’s but prints, magnets, boxes, bookmarks, note cards and journals, so stay tuned!

As always, thanks for taking a peek into my world.  You can see these pieces and others in my art shop.

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Friday shop update

So I’ve made the decision to put my goodies shop on hiatus for the summer.  It was necessary break I needed so that I could focus on my art shop and get it to a place where I’m satisfied (I still have a ton of options that need to be listed as well as things that still need to be scanned).

As such, you won’t be seeing any cute stickers or gift tags this summer, but I’m hoping to resume that in the fall once my art shop is in a better place.  Anyways, here are some of the newer options I’ve created lately in case you’re interested.

Thanks for taking a peek at what I’m up to.  Hope you have a great holiday weekend!

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Whimsical Wednesday: Fun with sassy old photos and free giveaways!

So I started my collage-a-day ACEO plan…although it’s more like 10 ACEO collages in a week because the truth is that even I don’t want to sit down and paint everyday.  I typically like to have marathon painting/collaging sessions once a week (twice a week if time allows).

So I sat down to work with some old photos I’ve been stocking up on and went to it.  I tried to add my signature to each piece by adding a stamp to each image, a tiny heart somewhere on the piece and flowers in the hair.  It’s just my thing I guess.  And some of these are a little sassy (read: nude-ish)…you’ve probably figured out by now that it’s also my thing.  Part sweet, part sassy.

Anyway, I’m really happy with how these came out and it was super fun (not to mention I got these 10 done in about 1.5 hours, so it’s really gratifying to have that many collages down in a short amount of time; now I understand the appeal of creating ACEO/mini-art cards!).

I’m giving away 5 of these.  Interested in a piece of original mini-art?  Leave a comment below telling me which one is your favorite!  I’ll use the random number generator program from Random.org, pick 5 winners and will contact those folks for a mailing address by this weekend.  Pretty simple right?  If you want to know when more giveaways are happening, then subscribe to my blog!

UPDATE: drawing is now closed…since not too many folks commented, everyone will get one, yay!  I’ll be in touch

Last week when I was working on my cake and coffee pieces, I shared one of my cupcake pieces…here are two more:

Ah yes, there’s the sweet to my sass

So I’m pretty excited about a big leap I took this week: I ordered UPCs for my line!  This is not a minor expense mind you,  but I’m really hoping to start selling some of my goods (i.e. bookmarks, magnets, note cards) in boutiques and stores this year and having a bar code on your products is often the first step in the door (most won’t talk to you until you do so), so I’m hoping that acquiring UPCs will help to put my intentions out to the universe.  Of course there’s lots of legwork to be done and “pounding the pavement” as they say, but I’m excited to have taken this first step.

My art shop is doing so much better than I could have ever anticipated in this short amount of time (and I’m picking up more wholesale interest) so I’m thinking I’ll eventually gear down my goodies and supplies shop so I can focus solely on my art shop.  Not only is it my busiest shop, but also the one that brings me the most satisfaction by far.  We’ll see where it takes me…

Thanks for following me along on this incredible journey during this past year…how my life has changed and I’m so very grateful. ♥

Okay enough with being sappy…gotta keep up the sweet and sassy persona after all!

Thanks everyone

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