What Do I Call It?

Lately, most of my energy has been put into fixing up my house.  I mean, dark paneling and hearts-made-of-flowers border are nice and all, but not really my style.  Check out the transformation so far:

Last night, I had some free time and broke out my art brushes.  I paid very close attention to my values this time.  This is something I have struggled with in the past.  The result is a much ore interesting painting than just a likeness.  At least, I think so.

The last step is coming up with a title, which is never much fun for me. I even struggle to title my blog posts.  How do you name things? 

Good Online Karma

I learned a little trick about the interwebs from Rachel.  She got her first smart phone in October (I'm still in the dark ages), so natrually, she had to get an instagram account.  The goal: lots and lots of followers.  The purpose:  well, I still haven't really figured that out.  But her strategy makes a lot of sense.

She started taking pictures of the vinyl albums she buys, and tagging them appropriately.  Then, she started liking photos of other peoples' records.  Lo and behold, people who like records started following her!  She did the same thing with a host of other topics, and very, very quickly built up a following of people who liked all the things she posted.  Amazing!

I started to apply the same practice in Etsy, and in no time, I had sales where I had none before!  It's also a great way to build a network of support, of colleagues.

Moral of the story: the best way to get positive attention is to give it!

Most Amazing Table

I'm a sucker for beautiful things.  I love tiny decorative containers that could not possibly hold anything of use.   That said, there is a special place in my heart for very practical things.  I get all weepy when form and function blend perfectly.  Ok, not really.  But I have a great respect for designers of practical things.  Today, I stumbled across this table.

Here's some other amazingly well designed furniture.  Who else wants their entire home to function this way?!

Color Experiments in Screenprinting

I did it.  i finally listed some prints I've been hoarding for a while.  It was a fun series of silkscreen prints I did in my last quarter of college.  My teacher encouraged me to keep printing.  Silkscreen is one of the easiest print techniques to pull off at home, you know.

No two prints are exactly alike.  I printed something like 10 big squares of background color, just a couple of each.  Then I printed a couple of each face color on each color of background.  Each fire and brain color was printed on each colorm ariation after that.  The only color present on each is the black.  Looking at them now, I might have arranged my layers differently.  I probably should have found a way to print the black last, for example.  But hey, that's what these experiments are for!

Check them out on Etsy.  One is framed, and 5 of the remaining 6 are posted here.  

Studio Buddy

Hazel decided that she needed to be part of my creative process last night. 

Think I could train her to be a paperweight or registration guide?

Playing with her after I finished gave me some inspiration.  It's difficult to find appropriate toys for a dog this size, especially toys without squeakers.  She happens to HATE squeakers.  So I think I'm going to start making tiny dog toys!  I'll be doodling some ideas today.  Can't wait to share them with you!

Etsy Overhaul!

I am in the process of giving my Etsy shop a MAJOR facelift!  I went ahead and listed a whole bunch of new things, including some folk style paintings, and a couple of prints.  I'm aiming to get back to my goal of one new item each week! 

Check it out here!

Logos and Free Programs

Designing logos is very specific work.  One must know exactly what to say with a single, iconic image.  I have been working on one for myself for a long time, and I think I've finally got it!  The idea blindsided me yesterday while I was at my day job, waiting for a meeting.  Funny how that happens, isn't it?  I did a nice clean drawing last night.  The only thing left to do is digitize!

My computer with Adobe CS on it happens to be 1,500 miles away at the moment, so I'm looking for free options that might do the trick.  I came across this list of 12 free design programs.  Has anyone tried any of these?  How do they compare to Photoshop, Illustrator, Corel Draw?