Happy Halloween!

I hope everyone had a safe and happy Halloween! Our Halloween was busy, busy, and full of friends and sweets! There was also a cat up a tree, a new trick or treating area, and a spooky kid that popped up out of nowhere as we walked through a dark park of the neighborhood.



Here's Mazzy's Pumpkin. Last week we were invited to a pumpkin carving party and since Maz is still too young to use sharp carving tools, we bought her paint to decorate her own little pumpkin. She painted a dark night with a full moon and skeletons and ghosts emerging from the ground. She's got a spooky imagination, that kid!

Currently!

Current book: See Above. You'd think I know what I was doing by now. Haha.
Current album: Whiskeytown's Pneumonia & anything by Interpol.
Current shame-inducing guilty pleasure: Procrastinating. Ugh.
Current color(s): Grey and black.
Current link: Facebook, too much time on it lately. Ugh x2
Current fetish: Planning, making lots of lists, marking items off the list.
Current drink: Coffee coffee coffee!
Current wish-list: The common-sense to get to bed at a decent time.
Current favorite song(s): "Crazy About You" by Whiskeytown.
Current triumph(s): Figuring out some Accounting stuff.
Current celebrity crush: Ryan Adams, for a long, long time.
Current indulgence: Too much coffee!
Current slang: "Aw NERDS!" (trying to cut down on the bad language w/ Maz around.
Current excitement: Mitch O'Connell approves of my mural. STOKED!
Current mood: Determined. Doing work, son!

Mural at the Tattoo Shop

I've known for many months that I would LOVE to paint a mural on the walls of the tattoo shop. A few weeks ago I had the chance and the time to start a new project. I knew exactly what I was going to paint: a Mitch O'Connell girl from the cover of his book, Mitch O'Connell, Tattoos.

I emailed this fabulous artist for permission to use his artwork. He responded within minutes with, "I would be flattered! Please send me a photo when it's done so I can post it on my website!" I was/am completely excited to hear from him so quickly!

So I borrowed a friend's projector (I need to buy one of my own, one day!) in order to easily and quickly trace the image on the wall. It stayed like this for several days.

Then come the first layer of paint. The original image has a lot of white highlights, and I figure since there's already a ton of white surrounding the girl, I should just fill in her bodysuit with blue. We also decided to take away her kitty ears and tail, as well as her pearl belt and necklace. Do you know how hard it is to paint perfect circles??? Well, I didn't want to find out.

Adding more shading. I made her a redhead at the request of my bossman. He loves them redheads.

And here you go, the complete image. You can see the jewelry case & flash rack on the right. The girl's quite large and impressive. I'd like to add more images around her but for now she's good on her own.

I really am proud of her. I will add Mitch's signature the next time I'm working at the shop. There are a few pencil marks I need to erase here and there, but you can't see them in the photo. I just couldn't wait to show it off on my blog. 

Thanks so much for your permission to use your image, Mitch!

Blast from the Past

In 1994, I lived in North Alabama. My dad would visit me and my brother once a month and we'd spend a weekend checking out all the flea markets we could find. These ceramic figures were unpainted when I bought them, and I remember trying to mix a decent turquoise color with the limited paints I owned. I'm pretty sure this was in the middle of my childhood obsession with everything Native American (still slightly obsessed). In fact, I still have a dreamcatcher that was purchased at the same flea market as the girl and fox figures, hanging over my bedroom window.

I thought about these figures weeks ago and was determined to find them at dad's house and photograph them. I was happy to see that I dated them on the bottom. In 1994, I was 12 years old, in seventh grade, and shy as all get-out. Then I do the math: I painted these 16 years ago. SIXTEEN YEARS AGO! Are you kidding me?

Dad loves these figures and he mentioned several times that I am not allowed to take these home with me. I'm glad he loves them as much as I do. I should do some more digging around to see if I can find any more vintage artwork!

Things I Love Thursday

Some things I'm diggin' on this week:
Back to class and trying my best to learn the beast that is Accounting, wearing new clothes and makeup, spending extra time with the kiddo thanks to Fall Break, unexpected evenings off of work, many projects up ahead, making deadlines and participating in good things, good nights of sleep, staying up late and reading a good book, reconnecting with old friends from high school and giggling over the attention, making plans for Halloween, this photo:

The new season of Dexter!, Jack Kerouac's Rules for Spontaneous Prose, My Paper Crane's catbus pinata, rediscovering Evan B. Harris' art, & Uncle Envelope (I need to sign Maz up for this asap!).

What are you lovin' on this week?

Complete - Pig von P

Pig von P is complete and ready to be shipped off tomorrow morning!







She will be auctioned off at this year's Cattle Barons' Ball, benefitting the American Canver Society, held in Peachtree Citty, Georgia.

To the Park! Lots of Dog Photos

We're watching a friend's weenie dog for a few days. This afternoon we took them to the newest park in town and walked them for a long time. That way they won't drive me nuts with their endless rough-housing and begging for treats.



Of course we had to let them investigate all the new smells.

There's something regal about dachshund's profiles.

Here's Charlie. He's a short hair dachshund, about 2 years old.

And a bit lazy.

Dexter's proud and brave. He's about a year and a half now.

Painting a Ceramic Piggy Bank - Day Two

Mixing the acrylic paint with Mod Podge is helping the paint stick permanently to the pig. Thank goodness! Here you can see the blue swallow on its left side. It's holding a pink ribbon that flows around the whole body.


I'm filling in the negative space with random dots and stars, as often seen in old school tattoos. These photos are from Monday and today I plan on fixing black lines and filling in with more dots and stars. I'm looking forward to getting this finished and shipping it off to its fundraising destination!

Painting a Ceramic Piggy Bank - Day One

A few weeks ago I was asked to participate in a fundraiser where artists paint a ceramic pig to be auctioned off. I chose to accept the challenge, and here's my little ceramic piggy.

So I'm to paint the pig, and send it back to the fundraiser organizer. Easy enough, right? Well, I was dumbfounded as to how to paint the pig. Acrylic paints wouldn't adhere to the ceramic glaze. There's special ceramic paint somewhere out there, I'm sure, but that involved at least an hour-long drive to the nearest Hobby Lobby. To be frank, I just didn't have the time, or the extra cash.

I set the pig aside, and let my ideas work themselves out in my brain for a few days. Finally it hit me...sand off the glaze. Durrrrr.


My handy dandy small hand sander did the trick. Now the pig's all sanded and acrylic paint should have a nice surface in which to dry.


Of course, my pig's going to be tattoo-inspired! I have a super neat name for him (or her!) when I'm finished. There are spots that weren't sanded correctly so some of the lines are rubbing off. I think adding Mod Podge to the paint might help out with the adhesion troubles. I'll keep you posted!

Wednesday Wishing

There are SO many wonderful things on Etsy and I wish I could buy everything I wanted. Instead, I'm just going to feature them in my blog. That way, I can just refer to this list whenever I have a few bucks to burn.

Keep Calm and Shine On - Large Print by Pleasebestill

Shine on You Crazy Diamond is one my most favorite songs. It holds a lot of sentimental value, and I cannot listen to it without tearing up a little. When Roger Waters played it during his Dark Side of the Moon tour in 2006, I bawled. I can see getting this print, framing it nicely, and hanging it in the bedroom.

Turquoise AT Symbol by EdiesLab

 I've noticed in recent months that I might be turning into a bit of a typofile. I love downloading new fonts and creating blog buttons or flyers for the tattoo shop. This AT symbol is simply beautiful, and I can picture it hanging above my station at the tattoo shop. I'm dying to paint a wall, either at the shop or at home, a peaceful turquoise.

Handmade Ceramic Owl by Claylicious

And who doesn't love owls?!? This wee owl can be custom made with any word you want. I might have to get one for Maz and stash it away for a holiday gift! Is it time to start shopping for Christmas gifts?

Show Me Yours, I'll Show You Mine

My current desktop. Miss Kaelah Bee wanted to see it! I like to keep things simple and stashed away. The only folders on my desktop are those that I need to open almost everyday: Work, School, Tattoo Shop, & Other Projects.

I found the photo on Flickr when I was searching for photos of Flint, Michigan. It's one of my favorite photos from my birthplace.

Share the Desktop love! What does yours look like?

Status Update!

Photo by Patti Robinson.

Photo by Patti Robinson

I painted the front windows of my work for the upcoming Folk Art Village, a group art show of local and nearby artisans. It should prove to be a good time and I know I'm looking forward to networking with all the artists involved.

I usually don't get photos of myself actually working on paintings, so many thanks to Patti for stopping by and snapping a few photos.

I don't have much to report on, art-wise, but I do have some great links to share:

• Heather blogs about getting a tattoo by me!
• I have re-discovered the art of Lauren Gregg. 
• The Burrow's Studio Blog. I look forward to their weekly update! Especially Cat Experiements!