Launch!

I had an extra day off this week.

So, I was very productive! Read: I sat on my butt and painted while ignoring the house. Well, not completely ignoring the house... Just not really helping it much either.

Anyway, I needed to slap some Christmas projects out there while I'm still in the mood to do Christmas stuff. 

I thought it would be cute to paint a couple dolls exchanging presents under the tree while the kids are asleep. I loved the concept, but I was still unhappy with this. It felt too "yellow" to me. I wasn't getting that warm, under-the-tree feeling. And it felt like it needed something. So, one night after I'd stared at it unhappily, I came up with the following:

I'm pretty happy with it. I really wanted to add more to the tree, but I gotta be honest. I lost steam. And I really didn't want to paint foliage. I think it's harder to paint foliage digitally than it was for me to do it in oils. But I really like the glossy wood and colored lights. Much better. :)

Fonz cat approves.

Then I decided to illustrate a sketch that I did in my car on my lunch break. I had drawn some gingerbread men catapulting off a table to safety. So, today (after a painting marathon), I came up with this:

I was pretty happy with it, until I decided I was done and saw it as a thumbnail. Then I was all like, "Shoot, there's something wrong with the composition!" I think I need to crop the bottom a bit because there is nothing going on down there! It's dead space! I don't know what I was thinking...

And then, to make matters worse, I uploaded it to FB, and as I was staring at the little guy on the spoon-catapult, I realized something. 

My freakin' catapult is backwards. Backwards!!! 

I think it's obvious that I never took physics. Oh well... I am calling on the kindness of the holiday season. Let's all suspend our logic... just for a little while, ok?

Brush Strokes FTW!

Okay, this guy... this guy is blowing my mind!

His name is Rob Rey http://www.robreyart.com/ and he is a traditional painter. The brush strokes in his work are lovely. Kind of makes me wonder what the heck I've been doing with mine!

So, I took my little personal piece and tried to infuse some of those lovely brush strokes. I haven't really accomplished it, but it's been fun to relax and paint more loosely.

Christmas Explosion! (I know, it's not even December yet.)

I'm listening to Christmas music and painting Christmas paintings while my Christmas tree spins in the background. No, I kid you not. It spins. (See the below example.)

But if you think I'm a Christmas nut, you should see my mom. The 1st of November hits, and it looks like Christmas came to her house and threw up. She was at my house today, and we were hanging out in the kitchen when her phone rang. She looked at me kind of sheepishly. Guess what her ringtone was? The Chipmunks singing Christmas carols.

It was pretty awesome, actually. I mean, we all have something we're really into. I love Doctor Who, my husband loves wrestling, and my mom just happens to really love Christmas.

I love you, Mom!

And now here's a close up of my Nutcracker painting. I have worked more on refining faces. I still have a lot left to "refine". Le sigh.

I should probably explain the thought process behind my paintings. That would probably be better done in a video since I'm not patient enough to sit here and type about it... lol

But no holiday season would be complete without me sharing my winter desktop wallpaper! I painted this last year, and I just love it. A cute girl waits in the snow for her love to come and exchange presents. Too corny! Too cute! <3 I kept this desktop last year well into Spring. lol Enjoy!

Dumpster Diving

Mirror, mirror, on the wall.
I am right-brained after all.

Why do I say that? Because, as you may have noticed, I have started another project. And finished none. 

Well... let me clarify. I have made progress on several projects... And technically, I haven't started a new project, but just picked up and old project. 

The above pic is a preview of a project with a pretty lady (bet you didn't see that coming) in awe of some sort of glowing orb... or fairy... or David Tennant...?

Yes? No? Thoughts? ;)

And in other news, Sweet-Little-Darling (aka my 1-year-old son) has apparently decided at a young age to become a hobo. We caught him "dumpster diving" in the trash for left over spaghetti noodles. It's one of those horrifying moments as a parent when your face scrunches up and you're just frozen in horror. 

Believe it or not, I do feed that child. 

Well, it's time for me to hit the hay, but since one Tennant pic is just not enough. So, here ya go!

Deep Thoughts

Progress! That's right, we're cutting to the chase. Here's a continuation of my nutcracker piece. I have a long way to go, but the more I work on it, the more ideas I have. It's supposed to be a nutcracker and a wooden doll exchanging presents in front of the Christmas tree on Christmas Eve. Sickeningly sweet, I know. But that's how I love my paintings! I'm really not sure where I'm going with the composition and color scheme. I anticipate lots changes as I go. Still, it's been a fun painting to work on in between commissions. :)

It's not exactly been an awesome day for me today. I woke up to find out all three of my kids have the stomach flu--the kind involving both ends of the body. Yes, I will spare you anymore details. 

Then I got a text at work saying my cousin passed away unexpectedly. So young. Too young. And left behind young children. 

This is the third death on that side of my family in a year. When I worked at the nursing home, they said that deaths come in three's. I saw that happen a lot. I sure hope we're done. 

I went for some "retail therapy" mainly because I needed to stay busy and keep myself from losing it so I could finish the work day. I found myself angrily wondering, "Why do they keep dying? Are we cursed?" And here is where my Christian upbringing kicks in. It's not for me to ask why. It's not for me to understand. All I can do is ask for His comfort, cry on His shoulder, and trust that somehow... somehow this all works for the good of those who love the Lord and are called according to His purpose.

That's a little hard to type. Not because I don't believe it, but because I don't understand it. In the end, I guess I'll never understand it all. I just have to believe it--throw out my reasoning, close my eyes, and trust in God. 

That's called faith.

Only if there's room in the sleigh...

Ad i other ews, a letter broke o my keyboard. Ca you guess which oe?

If you guessed "N", then you guessed correctly. But if I push really hard, it still works. See, I'm not pushing your leg! I mean, "pulling"! Gosh, it's been a long day!

Ready for your daily laugh? My seven-year-old says that he's been farting a lot today, and it gives him a smell he doesn't like. What? I thought everyone could handle their own brand?

Yes, farts are flammable.

Seriously, if I could fart like that, I would forsake The Van and fly to work! And y'all know how I feel about The Van.

Okay, now to the artsy stuff. I did paint last night, but not much progress was made. So, I will share a photomanip I did. The back story is that my husband and his friends asked some sort of Santa/magic eight ball combo if a particular friend was gay. Answer: Only if there's room in the sleigh. The guys thought that was hilariously fitting, and so this pic was born!

Remember the Twinkies! And Other Pitiful Events...

Not gonna lie. It's not all Twinkies and Roses over here. Actually, it's not Twinkies at all, but that's a whole other rant. ;)

I had one of those moments yesterday where I questioned what I'm doing with my life. Some of you probably know what I'm talking about. I was like, "I'm an artist. Why am I not painting? Why am I not making a living with my art? What's the point in having this ability if I'm not going to do anything with it?"

This was followed by a questioning-my-parenting-skills moment. "What kind of mom am I? I spend all my time at work! Who's raising my kids?? The public school system!"

Just in case you wanted to know, the turn out to my pity party was poor. 

I'm still feeling frustrated today, but at least I realize that my life is of my own makings. I need to put more time and effort into my art. I sense a New Year's Resolution coming... "For this next year, I will live off my art and spend more time with my kids." Read: Homeless, with the children standing on the streets selling art prints in front of Walmart. lol

So, what did I paint this week? (Yes, I did actually paint.) Well, you know me. I love to start stuff, and I was in the holiday spirit. First, a quick Thanksgiving picture.

And second, an unfinished holiday sketch of a nutcracker and cute doll. Well, she will be cute at some point. And that little mass of colors at the top is supposedly my pallet, but honestly they look pretty random. I think I need to come up with a better pallet...

Imagination!

I was sketching at lunch the other day (which is how I attempt to exercise my drawing skills), and because I'm in the NaNoWriMo spirit, I decided to sketch some of my characters. That's always good artistic exercise--trying to capture something from your imagination, down to the expression. Or sometimes it's downright infuriating and causes forest fires.

Well, maybe not forest fires...

Anyway, I really liked how one character turned out. I liked it so well that I took it home and drew it again on the computer and painted it. Voila!

This be Lisa. She is the best friend of my main character, and a study-aholic. She's pretty, intelligent, driven, and probably gonna rule the world some day. You know, the kind of girl that everyone loves to hate. In fact,  not many people like her, but she doesn't care because she's all like, "Fo'get you, sucka! I'm gonna be Madame President and you gonna be asking if I want fries with that!" 

Don't get me wrong, she's got a good heart, but she's so busy studying and working toward her goals that she kind of neglects her best friend--and, well, only friend.

I've had plenty of time to develop her character. After all, this is a story I've had in my head since I was, like, 12! And I'm not telling you how old I am now! :P

I've always had stories in my head. I guess that's part of having an active imagination.

It wasn't until fairly recently that I found out the average person doesn't look out a car window at a corn field and imagine a beautiful girl running for her life. Or see a barn and envision a teen walking in only to find some evil force has been there first and taken the life of their loved one. Or gaze at a hill and pretend that a haunted house that could not be destroyed is buried underneath. 

And I guess the average person doesn't kill time at the BMV by wondering what their characters' flaws are or what their favorite color would be. When I can't sleep, I flesh out a scene of one of my stories. (Which is probably why I haven't gotten very far, I fall asleep quickly... lol) 

Well folks, that's enough about me! What about you? Any of you have a good story in your head? 

NANOWRIMO, baby!

Sorry for the absence, friends! My children have been kind enough to share the plague with me. Aren't they thoughtful little dears? By the end of the weekend I felt like this:

No, that's not me. I wish my stomach was still that flat! lol

And because I've been sick and unproductive (read: laying on the couch watching Netflix), I haven't painted. BUT it is Nanowrimo time! 

For those who don't know (you silly people), Nanowrimo is short for National Novel Writing Month. There is even a site with lots of great tips and forums: http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/dashboard

The goal of Nanowrimo is to write a novel in a month. That's right, a whole novel in a month. 50,000 words in 1 month! Now, don't get your panties in a wad. No one said good novel--just novel! Once you have your precious piece of literary perfection (or 50,000 words of rambling, whatever), you can edit edit edit! 

I think I've said before that I'm not a writer, but I do enjoy writing stories. I'll never be a great writer, and I'm okay with that. Since I have no painting to show for myself, I will share an excerpt from my Nano. WARNING: My books are always aimed at high schoolers. Not sure why, but I somehow never matured past 16. When I turn 50, this will be very creepy... lol

Timing is everything. That could be the motto of my life because as soon as I entered the kitchen in my ragamuffin state, I nearly fainted. It was like a hottie convention.

Gathered around my kitchen were five of the South Neal’s most popular seniors, and my brother was perched on the counter top casually as if this kind of scene on a Saturday morning was perfectly normal.

With one yank, I pulled my ear buds out and realized that Brett was giving some sort of history lecture. The other muscular teens were so riveted that they failed to notice my entrance.

And then my eye caught a dark shape in the floor.

Cross-legged with his back leaning against a cabinet sat Nerd Stalker. Only he seemed more interested in the shape of his hands than anything Brett had to say. In fact, the way he was intensely staring at them was kind of creepy—almost like he expected them to change color or something. And as if that wasn’t weird enough, he sniffed them.

Gross!

Suddenly his eyes caught mine, he folded his arms and looked away.

Then I realized the room had gone silent. All eyes were staring at me.

And my bunny slippers.

Brett raised his eyebrows expectantly.

“I just… came to... get some breakfast…” Fourteen eyes stared intensely at me. And then, because I was nervous, and I do stupid things when I’m nervous, I grabbed the thing that was closest to me and fled.

It was only when I was back upstairs that I realized I had taken the broom.

Alright kids, go write your own novel!!! :D

Bikers, Minivans, and Gangstas!

"Why hasn't she blogged?" you might be asking. It's because I was kidnapped by a band of musical-loving ninjas who wouldn't let me go until we'd completely reenacted Newsies (which is a totally underrated musical, just sayin'). 

Yeah, that's a round about way of saying I got busy. Sorry.

But fret not, I have been painting! I can't share everything because they're secrets, and... well... the internet is not exactly the best place to hide something. ;) But I can share a couple close ups.

What are these? Don't ask. I'll explain later. ;)

Update on my new (new to me, that is) minivan purchase, it's going great! I love the Toyota--driving it, riding in it, staring at it from inside my house, etc. lol Seriously, no person should be as excited about power windows as me!

I don't see many Toyota Sienna's on the road, so every time I do, I feel like I need to salute them or something like we have some sort of inside secret. You know like how the bikers have a two finger salute for each other: 

Everytime I see a Sienna, I want to do this! LOL!

This is a Blog Post in Which the Poster Could Not Come Up With a Creative Title

Here's another "new" painting. I know, shame on me. I should actually finish something. I consider myself spanked.

To be honest, I've been working on this one for a while. (By working, I mean painting, getting frustrated, quitting, painting again, etc.)

This is a special request for my younger brother, Mr-Think-Outside-of-the-Box. He sketched me a hilarious scene depicting himself and a buddy lounging in their economy class while the teacher does an obnoxious impression of all the adults in Charlie Brown.

I love the bright red and royal blue along with the simple, cartoony concept. Based on his sketch, here's what I have so far:

It's been "fun" to paint. You know, as in I stay up until midnight (because that's late for us old farts) and paint feverishly while cursing my brother and his crazy ideas, but admire what I've done the next day while sipping coffee. That kind of fun.

Enough blogging, time for me to get back to the classroom. ;)

Isn't She Lovely?

Bambi, look out! I'd like to see you try to take this thing out! That's right, I'm the new owner of this:

Just kidding! It's actually this:

Yeah, I'm a soccer mom now. It's not like I was ever driving a fancy car anyway. After Bambi tried to take out my old car, I decided it was time to get a new vehicle. I mean, I had my other car since I was 16 (and it had been wrecked at least 4 times). It was time to give it a rest. 

But every time I look at her, all I can think is this:

On The Burner: Sleeping Beauty

Just like most right-brained people, I love to start projects. Finishing is a little more challenging. I decided I wanted something to go along with my Red Riding Hood paintings. So, I started my version of Sleeping Beauty.

That's just a preview of the face. It's going to be almost a full body shot. Right now she looks like she popped out of the 1960's. I'll fix that later. 

Her skin colors were inspired by this:

No, I am not a Twihard. But I have to admit they did a good job making Kristen Stewart look striking.

And in other sparkly news, since Bambi tried to take out my car, I am now test driving a sparkly crimson minivan. Yes, the dealer actually told me to take it home and drive it for a couple days. As my oldest son said, "I love this car! (pause) And Jesus!" Amen.

Friends in High Places

Remember Mousiekins?

Well, apparently he had friends in high places. *cough*Bambi*cough* One of them tried to take out Daddy the Destroyer today while he was on his way to work.

My car now looks a bit like this:

No, this is not actually my car. It's too dark out for a decent picture, but this is pretty much what my car looks like right now. Le sigh. 

Even in death, Mousiekins taunts me...

Here's Yer Sign!

TA DA! Recognize this? Oh yeah, that's right! That's my art on a glowing sign! I'm so proud. Felt kind of like having a baby, "He's so beautiful..." *sniffle*

For those who don't recognize my little farmer boy, here's a recap: I was commissioned by a friend to color some line art for his restaurant. I came up with this:

They did end up tweaking it a bit. They changed the wheel a little, colored the shirt red, and let the poor boy eat chicken instead of a burger. (Hey, chicken is healthier, right?) 

I am definitely one proud parent! ;)

On the Burner...

Here's what's cookin' on the burner this week:

I worked on it for about an hour last night. It's the companion piece to this:

It was really fun to paint and coming together quickly. I made this little square brush with rounded corners and slightly softened edges. It paints really nicely and reminds me more of oil painting. And thank goodness, because I'm having some oil painting withdrawals! 

I don't oil paint much (okay, like almost never) because it's such a pain in the rear to get all of my supplies out and then put them back away again. I mean, set up and clean up time are at least 30 to 45 minutes, whereas it takes me 2 min to paint digitally!

Still, I miss the way that oils blend and the beautiful look they give a painting. I'm going to have to take time to do some more oil painting I guess. :)

Farewell Mousiekins

Let's have a moment of silence for Mousiekins the Bold.

Poor Mousiekins met his untimely end not in a mouse trap, but by the hands of Daddy the Destroyer. You see, when Daddy went to open the shed, Mousiekins popped out and ran down Daddy's arm in a scene that looked a lot like this:

I'll spare you the details of Mousiekin's death, but let me just say I'm glad to be mouse free. For now. 

More pictures, less talk

Before I share my latest art piece, let me say that I accomplished much today. The house got a thorough cleaning-- not because I'm super wife, but because I couldn't find my favorite shoes. Yeah, that's sad, I know. But I picked up toys, moved furniture, vacuumed, and scrubbed dusty walls until I found them underneath my husband's laptop case...

...in the living room. Sometimes I amaze myself.

I'm kind of addicted to painting these paper cut out pieces: 

Today I started wondering if I could make something in this style that adults would like, too. So, in the Halloween spirit, I did this:

I really like it. I want to make a companion painting for it-- maybe a dapper dude in a tux with a top hat or Phantom-of-the-Opera kind of mask. What do you think?