Samples of this year's Halloween costumes are in. If/when I get ahold of the manufacturer, I will see if its OK to post pcitures. Might be secret until closer to the holiday, though.

I sent off layouts to the printer for new greeting cards yesterday. I've never done layouts for anything before, so I am hoping they will work out.

My process for creating a painting is always changing-evolving. So I'm going to share the latest process with you. A year ago, I was working on 20 or more pieces at a time, most of them small. In the past few months, that process has been discarded (for now) and a new process has taken over. I start with a light sketch of a pose, transferred to watercolor paper. Then I lay tracing paper over it and sketch out different costumes as well as other elements. Sometimes I go through several sheets of tracing paper before I find something that works, at which time I take a trip to my light table, and transfer the costume to the watercolor paper. I prepare 2 to 4 drawings this way before I start painting, because background washes take time to dry, so its nice to have a few pieces to hop back and forth with while one is drying. (I do employ the help of a blow dryer sometimes to hurry things up even more.) I like to complete all of the backgrounds on the paintings first, because I want to focus my real attention on the character(s). Once the backgrounds are done, I try to direct my efforts on only one painting at a time, sometimes 2. I find that when I painted large numbers of pieces all at once, I focus less time on each piece. Forcing myself to only focus on 1 painting at a time, I've found I paint a lot better. Another change to the new process is I have been working on larger pieces. I put a lot more detail into my paintings now, and its hard to do that with small paintings.

Finished "A Dark Enchantment" last week. I am loving it, but it is a bit edgy. I know this, because my sister likes it and she's got...shall we say..."odd" tastes. But then so do I.

I just bought another butt freckle.....

For the last 2 years, I've been painting my butt off, trying to become a better painter--with little or no results. I'm talking more than 200 paintings and not enough improvement to speak of. I was getting perilously close to giving up painting, because the frustration was just too much. Then FINALLY it happened. Something "clicked" and I broke the barrier and managed to struggle to the next level. When I release "A Dark Enchantment" in April, you'll see what finally left me feeling like I had achieved something. Unfortunately, this new painting style takes 3 times as long as my standard style. Its also much more painful-my hand feels like its about to fall off and I swear I was sweating. Hallelujah anyway! Now...what to paint next.....
 

This new work is a reflection of what I really like to paint-what I paint when I paint for myself. Its a huge relief to just let go and paint what wants to come out, without "editing it" because I'm worried people won't "get" it.

I am posting some of the new art on the facebook fan page.

Just a quick note: my fan page is for everyone and I will be posting more stuff there than on my personal page, which I am reserving for friends and family. Please join the fan page and I will see you there! But unless you are a friend, and family members, please don't friend my personal page--I'm already getting inundated and its hard to keep up and sift through it all, and cuts into my painting time, which makes me grumpy. I finally have stepped up to the next level in my paiting ability, and am really excited to paint. I will post more on that later, though.

I just started up a Face Book page--both a fan page and a personal page. I still have no idea what I'm doing. But I'm trying my best! I'll be attempting to upload some new art this weekend. Wish me luck!

Here is a sneak peek at what's coming in roughly 2 weeks...actually, I have nothing to write about, so I'm just searching for something to fill the space and make the journal seem interesting. Not working, is it. Hmmmm. OK, well.......I'm about half done with the new Enchanted Visions theme for March-A Dark Undercurrent. Somehow I managed to enter "the painting zone" yesterday and got a lot done. I started with a drawing in front of me, that I had no idea how I was going to paint, didn't know what colors to start with, and was pretty sure I was completely out of my depth; but somehow it just flowed. Maybe it was because I had Abney Park's Death of Tragedy CD on repeat for 5 hours. I don't know. Hopefully I can find the zone again today and get some work done. Well, time to drag the children out of bed and force them to eat large bowls of stewed pill bugs in a broth of curdled milk. Just kidding-we're having garlic and earthworm pancakes today. mmmm....chewy.

Yes, I am a big Butt Freckle fan. Below, the proof. I can't get enough of them!!

In the past, some of you may remember me threatening to send flying monkeys out to do my evil bidding. "Flying monkeys?" you say? Oh, the small minded non-believers. I now provide proof that I do, in fact, have flying monkeys. BEHOLD! And tremble in fear. Or at least pretend to tremble in fear - flying monkeys are very insecure.

Artist, Trish Hedegaard, made me an Owl family, and I had to show it off. Its so amazing. Unfortunately, my pictures are less than wonderful and don't do the pieces justice. They have the most precious, adorable little faces.

She has an Etsy Shop

Okey dokey--the newest Enchanted Visions image is now posted in the appropriate gallery. A little early, but I got tired of sitting on it!

The next theme title, due April 1st is...drum roll please....A DARK UNDERCURRENT. spooky

I've been listening to the new Abney Park (Aether Shanties) while painting today. I love it. Especially "Until the Day You Die", which I saw them perform at Faerieworlds last month. I've been working on a new series of paintings-different from my usual work. They're a lot harder to paint and therefore more challenging/fun. Its exhausting, but I'm enjoying it tremendously. My back and neck are sore from leaning over my table for hours, but oh well. I am tentatively planning on releasing the first 4 the middle of March. Later in April, I will most likely release the next 3. All will be large limited editions.

Enchanted Visions reminder: the current theme "Shades of Blue" will be due March 1st. I'm done. Are you?

Sadly, nothing much is going on around here. (Unless you count 2 skunks fighting on our patio last night and stinking up the house to the point where I couldn't sleep, because the stench gave me a headache.) So, here I am, sleep deprived (as usual), listening to Woodland, working on laying down background washes on 3 paintings, waiting for paint to dry, and just now remembering I'm suppose to be signing and numbering a stack of prints (crap). Oh, and I've been harassing Jessica Galbreth by sending her multitudes of random emails--but she knows she loves it.

OK, back to work. Unfortunately, pictures don't paint themselves, or sign and number themselves, which is really a shame.

My kids are such picky eaters. I asked Bella if she wanted boiled slugs with cinnamon for breakfast, and she said no.

So anyway, here are some pics of my dolls/studio muses. I posted these before in my old journal, but have added some pics. They are not only inspirational, they give me another creative outlet.

I see pics of other Faerie artists' studios and I just sigh. They are usually tidy and pretty. NOT MINE! Yes, this is actually what my drawing table looks like most days. OK, I admit I tidied up a bit....doesn't show, though, does it?

We didn't get many pics from the Winter Faerieworlds Balls, but here are a few. I forgot I brought my camera (never took it out of my bag) and my friend's camera ran out of batteries (as is, apparently, the universal camera law.)

Hello! Here we are, a new website-FINALLY!!! Oh new website, how long I have waited for thee… 

Why all the changes? What’s going on? Here’s a run-down…. 

We have begun shipping most of our prints-anything 8.5x11 and under RAW(without individual backing board and clear sleeve) to eliminate un-necessary packaging. We'll save trees, save storage space, and reduce the weight of shipments. It just makes sense!

We have stopped stocking many of the gift items. Why?  I'll tell you. Simply, because ever-escalating shipping costs have become ridiculous. Also, we have had to reduce the amount of space we operate in, and don't have the space to carry everything all the time. I intend to stock a selection of special items in limited quantities when space permits. Primarily, we will be focusing on items we manufacture ourselves and items that are easy to ship: calendars, books, portfolios, prints, cards, etc. 

We've designed a new Licensed Products Gallery to showcase various licensed products that are on the market, as well as announce new products as they are released. We'll be working with at least one online store who has agreed to carry all of the items, so we can help you find products we are not currently carrying.

I've been dabbling in self-publishing, which has been a good learning experience if nothing else. I published a book I wrote 12 years ago, which is an illustrated poem, titled "Faery Dance". In addition, I published my first portfolio collection. I love portfolios, because they allow you to collect art in a more economic way and the fact that they can be stored on the bookshelf is a bonus. I have some other projects I'm working on, but I'll wait and see how they progress before I mention them.  

What should you expect from me in 2010? Expect to see more Limited Edition prints in the coming year. I also hope to publish more portfolios and another book. We are currently working on another coloring book and are discussing publishing our own card line. Will all of this happen this year? No idea. Some may not happen at all. Experience has taught me that the Universe has its own time line and my wishes rarely coincide, but we're thinking about these things and hoping that the stars will align and allow us to push forward on all or many of these projects. We still have a lot of work to do on the site too, so expect additional changes as the year unfolds.