Happy Easter!

I have had such a crazy last two weeks. Work, book, more work, made these crazy eggs spelling out EASTER EGG HUNTS for the A&E cover. I spent 3 days (after watching Martha on the Today Show talk about these decal and making her eggs) trying to find the decals, (no one had them) ... then looked for temporary tattoo decal paper. None. Finally, found decal paper at Galaxy Hobby for car decals. It turned out pretty good, but not something I think I would do again. Spend hours photoshopping the shiny decal edges out of the photo. 


 

Since I need to be illustrating feature stories again, signed up for a SKILLSHARE class  by Brad Woodard - Digital Illustration: Communicate with Color, Pattern and Texture. It was good, but I ran out of personal time to work on it and ended up throwing something out there. There were some wonderful concepts and art in the class. Mine was titled Quiet Mind in a Big Space.

After weeks and weeks of not feeling like I had a day off, yesterday, I cleaned up a month's worth of clothes collecting on the chair in our bedroom. A convenient place for the cats to sleep. While I was cleaning ... I watched 2 seasons Shameless on the watchathon. The father character you want to kill ... the mother is a mess, it is train wreck you can not turn away from. If you like incorrigible, reckless, deeply flawed characters that make you feel better about your life ... then this is the show for you. Unfortunately, we don't have Showtime ... so I will have to wait until the next free watchaton to catch up on Season 3.

So, now to go catch up on the rest of my life, like Brantlers and cleaning house. Have a great Easter! xoxox

Let's not forget

It was not that long ago that we witnessed one of the most haunting, horrific events live on television. Nature is bigger than us and we sure forget that sometimes. My heart has been broken for that region of Japan since the tsunami. "The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom" by Lucy Walker is a beautiful tribute to them: the living, the lost, nature and Japan's more beloved flower. I watched this on HBO today. Rebuilding goes on.

Taking a look

What happen to those days I would go to Sky Nursery and spend hours looking at flowers? Waiting for my life to settle down ... I want to do that again in the near future! I stopped by my favorite abandoned house on the on my way home. ;)

 

 

 

Beautiful Buffalo

It has been a long time since I was on Ebay but this morning I was purchasing more bottles for my sand collection and happened upon this, white fiberglass buffalo. 

Wouldn't that be great, just as is, white, as backyard art? Then I found The Spirit of the Buffalo website. Loving the Picasso buffalo and this Indian headress, below.

These two beautiful sculptures below by Emily White.

"Standing Buffalo" by Carl Kauba 

Let's not forget the wonderful Buffalo Nickel.

Dumbarton Bridge Buffalo

The making of The Buffalo Trail by artist Richard Loffler

Some Buffalo statures on AluminumYardArt.com 

Oaxacan Wood Carving Damian Morales Buffalo 

Springing up

In one day, every little thing seems to be sprouting new leaves and flowers are popping up in dead leaves. 

 

Secret ingredient

Well, I am not going to Texas tomorrow. Instead, my friend has a publisher for her book ... and we will be spending the week putting that together for a 3/15 deadline. ;)

Before I am off into InDesign-no-man's-land ... I have been working on Brantlers, on and off the last 2 days. 

The secret ingredient. ;)

Painting branches red and recycled metal leaves from Goodwill (painted my favorite green).

Trying to get two branches that match up is a real challenge. The reason I have so many in my garage. Tell my husband that. ;) One is perfect ... will have to go out and get another matching one. 

In print (again)

I have been creating some logos for Ron Hansen but I have not had any work printed for a long while. Yesterday, my first piece in the Everett Herald. Woo Hoo. 

Visual illusions

 
A new one from a friend!

 
More visual illusions here.

Purple Passion!

Great to be home. Lots of work to get caught up on. VistaPrint has been having some promotional sales, and when they do ... I take advantage! I am making a Purple Passion card set. I really, really love to see my flower photos in print! Isn't it fun? Putting them up on Etsy soon.

 

Stopped off foraging for branches on my way home from North Bend. And found this wonderful weed and some branches (hidden from my husband in the back on my truck.)

 

This is my life

It’s Your Life, So Make the Most of It

My FB activity increases whenever I am dog-sitting. Which is where I am this weekend. I just documented some details of my surroundings while I walked the dogs outside, followed them around the house and watch them, watch me working on my computer. 

For a the last 2 weeks, I have been employed part-time at The Everett Herald. It feels great to be back in a newsroom. Hoping I can remember how to *work* in the newsroom again. Have done a few illustrations and maps. I feel so lucky. 

Still compelled to search out jobs every week. But I have discovered in the last two years, every 3 months, the same companies advertise the same jobs. Makes you wonder what kind of job it is that they can't keep an employee for more than a couple of months. And I have applied several times to many of those places. The last 3 months I made a decisions NOT to apply with those companies. Not that I am bitter about either my having application being ignored or after an interview being passed over for "a candidate that meets our needs more closely" ... :} --- more of the thought that I really don't want to work for those companies. I know those companies well. I know lots of people who work for them and are required to work 50 hour weeks, long commutes, longer meetings full of corporate crap. I finally came to my senses, corporate life is not for me. My curmudgeon, introverted personality does not do well in an environment where I have to smile and sit through long meetings that have no meaning (for me) but to add to the layers of bullshit. 

In my last position, this night owl was given the 430a shift that required several meetings during the morning. Two things on my list of things I DO NOT do well. I was always the one that volunteered for the overnight, late night gig because everyone knew I was better for late, late night than at 430a in the morning. My response to the art director was that "if I didn't know better, I would think you were setting me up for failure, cause for firing". That did not go over well with him, but it was the truth and I saw that coming for 4 years. That's businesses, I am aware of that. I just don't think I want to subject myself to that on a full-time basis.

I feel so free, so relieved! I have made it over the "I-have-to-be-fully-employed-by-a-giant-company" hurdle. I have been doing some freelancing, dog-sitting, now part-time job. I can just keep doing lots of odd jobs instead of one (uncertain) secure one while i get my other art interest off the ground. I am decorating my life.

I sold two more Brantlers at butter home. I tried to get to the studio last week. My band saw came back from being repaired and David cleaned up a big mess we had both made. Ready for me to get back to work and make some fun! 

It is frightening how much TV/online I watch when I am out here. I watched Parade's End on HBO (thanks to the heads up from Maggy) (on my HBO to GO). It was a terrific series, just too short. I caught up on all of my shows I like, Project Runway, the teenager inside of me loves to watch Beauty and the Beast, some new stuff on Netflix. Of course, I am also working as watching ... I am very good at multi-tasking.

This is my six word memoir: "he has always believed in me". More Six Words on Twitter.

I really love Becca Stadtlander illustration style. Prickly Pear below by Becca Stadtlander ... so see more of her terrific work.

I have started following The Reverse Wine Snob.

Can you believe these paintings by Karen Woods? Yes, that is a painting! Via Lost At E Minor
 

I am in a remote place this weekend with bird calls that I am not familiar with. Yesterday at dusk, I heard these distinct "whistle" calls. Long, strong, whistles, many of them out there in the thick of the woods. I started searching bird calls and with the help of my FB friends was able to figure out it was a Varied Thrush. How exciting. I thought at first it was a Cedar Waxwing.