2010 in Review

I cannot lie, 2010 kicked my butt over and over. I kept busy all year and I'm so tired and lazy now. In this entry, I dubbed 2010 to be the year of Art, and well, I definitely did my fair share of creativity! I consider this year to be a success. Now a list, of course! This year:

Started learning to tattoo (always a learning experience!), took a family vacation to Chattanooga, celebrated 6 years of marriage, had a photo in "Visions of Glory" (earned People's Favorite), had an interview with the local newspaper (front page news!), drove 13 hours to Michigan with my brother and cousin, discovered a new allergy (yuck!), dipped my toes in a Great Lake, organized an art fundraiser involving local artists (earned over $700 for the gallery), made props for a play and a dance recital, painted a mural for a local church, celebrated Maz's 8th birthday, volunteered for SlowExposures, was Matron of Honor for my dear friend Erica (Maz was the flower girl), painted a mural for the tattoo shop, had a full page spread in a local magazine, painted a piggy bank for a fundraiser, organized a Feline Foto Show for a nearby bookstore, painted a nursery, hosted Thanksgiving dinner at my house for the first time, painted Elvises for Christmas Lane, and finished school (for now?) and earned an Associate's Degree. In between all that, I spent time with friends and family, did lots of homework, and tried to maintain my sanity. Seriously, I was busy this year!

Looking back, I'm quite proud of myself and what I've done. Now to kick back and hang out at the shop for the afternoon, then come home for some video games and tacos to ring in the new year. I'll update soon with 2011's goals and wishes.

Christmas Lane Elvis

Christmas Lane opens on the first Saturday of December and every year the residents of R Street decorate their lawns for the holidays. Every time we visit Christmas Lane, I think to myself, man, I've got to get a my work on one of these lawns. This year, I was granted that chance!

I was asked if I could take the silhouettes of Elvis (meant to be painted black) and make them look like the real guy. I didn't even give myself the chance to really think about what I had to do, I just thought about how much fun it would be and immediately said, "Yes! I can do it!"

I get the large wood cutouts, prime them, then proceeded to stress out. How in the world am I going to make them look like Elvis? I consider myself not really good at realism, and even a couple of my friends shared my concerns. What did I get myself into?

So, I sucked it up and dove headfirst into all things Elvis. I painted for hours on end, and here's the result:

I was so pleased with the end result! And relieved! I think after the client picked the up I spent the entire next day in my pajamas, not doing a thing. Elvis is exhausting!

Here's are some blurry, cellphone photos of some of the progress:

Hurrah for overcoming challenges!

What We're Wearing Today

Since finishing school (FOREVER!), I've been trying to get back in the habit of drawing and sharing. Today I drew a picture of me and my outfit to share with the What I Wore Today Flickr Group.




Maz saw what I was doing and wanted to draw one too:




I hope to draw more of these in the future. I also hope to update my wardrobe asap! I've been in a fashion slump lately!

New Painting, Hurrah!

New Watercolor painting.

New Paintings!

Cherry Blossom Tree Branch Oil Painting on Canvas (24"x12")

Nut Up or Shut Up Acrylic Painting on Canvas (6"x6")
Both are available in my Etsy shop!

It's super nice to get back into painting again. Especially, painting on canvas. I would love to one day make enough money from my art to support the family. One day.


Check out this get-up! I know I built a lightbox awhile ago, but it just wasn't cutting it. So I purchased a foldable lightbox on eBay. But once I opened it, I knew that it wasn't going to get folded up again. Ever. I've got to find a permanent place for it, and get some more lights, and definitely a lint roller. The white fabric makes it super obvious that a black haired dog lives here. The manic part of me wants to reshoot every item in my Etsy shop, and well, that'll be nice, but it's sure to take a long time. Maybe I'll make an afternoon of it over the Christmas break.

Mellow Monday

My father-in-law's house is in the most perfect place to watch the sunset.

It's December. The holidays are quickly approaching and I'm quietly stressing out about the end of the quarter of school. I'm hoping I pass so it'll be the last class I take. I just want to stay home and paint, draw, carve, and take photographs. I should have a new painting to show off tomorrow! I'll get back into the swing of blogging this week, promise!

On My Desk Wednesday

I got caught up in my most recent large projects and it seems I've forgotten the blog. Well, I haven't forgotten, I just didn't have the energy to put into it. Today, though, is a brand new day. And I'm all about getting back into my own personal projects. Above, you'll see a new small print inspired by one of my favorite movies, Zombieland. I'm cleaning it up a big and when the block dries, I hope to make a few prints to put in my Etsy shop.