The Scarecrow - Oz Series

The Hollow Men

The Hollow Men
T. S. Eliot

Mistah Kurtz—he dead.

A penny for the Old Guy

I

We are the hollow men
We are the stuffed men
Leaning together
Headpiece filled with straw. Alas!
Our dried voices, when
We whisper together
Are quiet and meaningless
As wind in dry grass
Or rats’ feet over broken glass
In our dry cellar

Shape without form, shade without colour,
Paralysed force, gesture without motion;

Those who have crossed
With direct eyes, to death’s other Kingdom
Remember us—if at all—not as lost
Violent souls, but only
As the hollow men
The stuffed men.

II

Eyes I dare not meet in dreams
In death’s dream kingdom
These do not appear:
There, the eyes are
Sunlight on a broken column
There, is a tree swinging
And voices are
In the wind’s singing
More distant and more solemn
Than a fading star.

Let me be no nearer
In death’s dream kingdom
Let me also wear
Such deliberate disguises
Rat’s coat, crowskin, crossed staves
In a field
Behaving as the wind behaves
No nearer—

Not that final meeting
In the twilight kingdom

III

This is the dead land
This is cactus land
Here the stone images
Are raised, here they receive
The supplication of a dead man’s hand
Under the twinkle of a fading star.

Is it like this
In death’s other kingdom
Waking alone
At the hour when we are
Trembling with tenderness
Lips that would kiss
Form prayers to broken stone.

IV

The eyes are not here
There are no eyes here
In this valley of dying stars
In this hollow valley
This broken jaw of our lost kingdoms

In this last of meeting places
We grope together
And avoid speech
Gathered on this beach of the tumid river

Sightless, unless
The eyes reappear
As the perpetual star
Multifoliate rose
Of death’s twilight kingdom
The hope only
Of empty men.

V

Here we go round the prickly pear
Prickly pear prickly pear
Here we go round the prickly pear
At five o’clock in the morning.

Between the idea
And the reality
Between the motion
And the act
Falls the Shadow
For Thine is the Kingdom

Between the conception
And the creation
Between the emotion
And the response
Falls the Shadow
Life is very long

Between the desire
And the spasm
Between the potency
And the existence
Between the essence
And the descent
Falls the Shadow
For Thine is the Kingdom

For Thine is
Life is
For Thine is the

This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
Not with a bang but a whimper.

Broken Pencils

I like broken pencils.
I didn't realise I liked them until I went on a pencil hunt tonight.
I found about five perfectly sharpened pencils laying on the table, all shiny and neat.
Then I saw one, leadless, banged up on the ground.
I picked it up.
I kinda think somebody may have smashed it while eagerly playing a roleplaying game, or some such.
We have Friday night gatherings.
The wood around where the lead should be chipped off and fluttered to the ground.
I rubbed the stem of it.
I smiled.
I decided I liked damaged pencils. Because damaged pencils, like damaged art, have the potential to be fixed.
It's good mojo.
So I took it to my room, I sharpened it, and now I will use it for my next piece.

Oh, broken pencil!
I like you!

I MADE A BOOK!

Why yes, yes I did.
Here was the spam I emailed out alongside it:

If You Really Loved Me....

You'd buy my book!
Yes, yes, you would!
Each and everyone of you.
Then you'd beat your friends with a baseball bat until they bought a copy.
And then they'd beat *their* friends until *they* bought a copy!
It would be a beautiful friend-beating experience.
And then it would spread like CRAZY MAD RAPID FIRE!
And oh!
You'd buy them as gifts to give away!
You'd buy them to use as coasters, door stops and YES! Even toilet paper if you so choose. Think of how many could fit stacked from the bathroom floor to the ceiling!
If you *really* loved me you'd all buy my book and turn it into a freaky fungus type of deal, crawling all over the universe, taking over small villiages and outrunning small children.
So do it.
Do it!
Buy my book.
Buy it at:
http://www.lulu.com/content/2407695
And then I will know that you all love me, for sure.
Anybody need a baseball bat?

*heads to the sports store*

Share Your Tears:Volume One.

Today...

I believe I shall draw up 'The Seamstress' for the artisan series.
Maybe I will not attempt the self portrait until the very end.
I'm also going to look at flying monkeys.
I'd love to do all the Oz characters.
But I think I hate Toto.

Sick.

Dammit! I'm sick. And I *never* get sick. No, really...I never get sick.
It's allergies, as a matter of fact.
Too much dancing in the street.
Stupid American pollen.
And I can't take drugs for it.
Because I oppose drugs in general.
Do you want to see my unimpressed face?
Do you???
Oh wait.
My sick face wins out.
But inside I have an unimpressed, roaring monster.
I promise you.
*shakes feeble white fist*

The Downfall Of Dorothy - finished

Finally finished!

Real photos tomorrow when the light is right for it.
For now just deal with the flash.

*blows kiss*

Colour

Water Painting

I don't expect you to love how I love, but oh...I do love!





Crippled today with a ridiculous headache.
Hope to shake it before my darling gets home.
Off to swallow drugs and lay, lay, lay myself down.
*drips onto couch*

I'm Not Responsible

I'm not responsible for what I find on the internet.

Inhale And Go

t o d a y .

I am tidying and organising my studio.
Today is incense and Leonard Cohen.
Twirls and gypsy skirts.

Soon it will be the supermarket.
I will buy treats.
Then it will be back here to work.

I love today.
I do.
This sweet, smoky, colourful day.

The Puddles

I'm in love with the inbetweens.
I can't help it.
It's when the pieces are most alive to me.

Oh Dorothy.

Oh Dorothy.
Why do you do this to me?
You laying there, so perfect.
Almost perfect.
Putting poppies in may ruin how stunning you are.
But you are not Dorothy without poppies.
And without poppies you won't have your downfall.

Oh, clever Dorothy.
How did you turn this into the downfall of Sarah?

*shakes fist*

Falling In Love

It's a tad ridiculous.
This Saturday is my five year wedding anniversary.
And I'm falling in love with my husband all over again.

The Winds

I finally have a chance to paint 'The Dorothy Series' today (been working on a different project the past couple of days) and....

the tornado sirens are going off.

Isn't that beautiful?

The Downfall of Dorothy

The Downfall Of Dorothy has begun.




Original drawings transferred by carbon, no lightbox tracing at all. Ahhhhh *inhales fresh air*

Merry Sunday, All.

OH MY *CURSEWORD* GOODNESS!

SALVADOR DALI designed the CHUPA CHUPS logo!!!!!!!

What, what?!?!

That's insane in the brain, yo!

Also

Here is a photo of me from the shoot I mentioned earlier.



I am imagining something in a similiar vein for my portrait.
I'll keep you posted.

Wow.

I just found the first watercolours I ever painted (with the exception of a couple of ones mucking around in highschool).
About 3 years ago, I think.



Crazy fun to look back and recollect.

Seamstress

My friend (the seamstress) just sent me the most amazing nudes for the artisans series.
She is BEAUTIFUL.
The poses are AMAZING.
The concept is FANTASTIC.

I'm just...all abuzz and crazy, really.

I stand back and gasp.

Superhero

Oh look!
I have superhero powers that are completely uninteresting to anybody but me!

Lightbox Delight

Can't trace images on the lightbox because I can't stand to look at them afterward!

LOOK WHAT THEY DID!

To Kermit! Oh me, oh my!



What?
*busts out laughing*

Freakishly

New day and things are freakishly better.
Somebody in the comments below reminded me of what I originally wanted for the artisan series...that is, I wanted the monsters and the trauma and the passion. Mostly the passion which has such a volatile tug of love and hate, excitement and fear.
And that is nowhere, NOWHERE in my self-portrait.
So that self-portrait, while nice enough of a painting, is NOT for the artisan series at all.

A few years ago I did a photoshoot in a shower with a sheet. It covered my face, while wet it clung to my cheekbones, eyebrows and lips. I need to reconstruct something similiar to that to get the pose I need. Almost nightmarish, screaming behind a wet sheet, begging to be let out.

I'm not going to rush on this.
I will pose today and if the results don't hit a heartstring, I won't settle. I will just try again tomorrow.

In the meantime, in the morning, I will work on the poppies series.
Because I think - rightfully - the artisans are going to take time.
If there is one thing I want to represent and represent well, it's the artists of this world.

So I'm not discouraged anymore, I'm excited.
I'm excited to restart. That is a beautiful thing.
And I'm excited to craft and create other things alongside this, to remind me of colour and form.

ARGGH!

Outside.
I'm on the outside of my art right now.
I need to be back on the inside.
What happened?

Maybe I should switch mediums for a bit.
Maybe I should go chalk pastel, get filthy, get hands on.

IyEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.
What's going on, Busterette?
What's the matter?

*purses lips*
*looks around studio*
*stamps foot*

Apologies

Again, for the absence. I've just not been gravitating towards the computer of late. In fact I'm having a fabulous, torrid affaid with pen and paper right now. As you do.

On art. The self-portrait (and first piece for the artisan series) is still...gak. That is my descriptive word of choice for this piece, gak. I think it may be salvageable but right now looking at it gives me...hmmm...*rabbit nose*...it gives me no sense of satisfaction. That's right. I ain't got no...nah nah naaaah...I ain't got no...

Anyway.
I may potter away with it.
It currently looks like this:


For TODAY, though, as I woke up with -oh-my-gosh-why-am-i-alive-what-am-i-doing-with-my-life guilt, I need to get a shuffle on with something that I can be proud of or something that will give me a sense of accomplishment. I know I NEED to finish my fairy tales series (I have too many unfinished pieces around the house) but I think I may draw up three small works for my oz/poppies series.

It will keep me away from the pre-pictured mess above and - providing they turn out well - will erase some of my why-am-i-alive guilt.

Did you follow that? I write this in the freezing cold, in sweat soaked clothes after a 10 mile run, with a pounding head. Heh.

So, that's my plan of attack for today.
I need to go prep the canvases.

I have more to say on how beautiful life is but maybe I'll leave that for later on.
But isn't it?
Isn't life beautiful, though?

*dashes off to find canvases and models, tripping on beauty as she goes*

(extra apologies, also, for todays incoherancies)

Stuck

I'm stuck.
On my current piece.

*bites knuckles*

Freckles

I love painting freckles.
It's like...
it's like when you sign a work. It's a personal thing.
Well, on a portrait a freckle is a personal thing.
It's very rare someone else has the same freckle, the same size, in the same place.
I love painting people with freckles.
It just seems to *involve* them more.
And right now I'm working on a self portrait and I've just put some freckles in.
Again, it's such a personal thing, whether it's my body or somebody else's.
I love it.
I love these freckles.

*grin*

New Worlds

Sorry for being absent.
New worlds are being created.
Today I'm in the studio finishing off old stuff so I can start new stuff.
I'm falling in love with unfinished pieces.
Getting a shuffle on.
Polishing them.
Romancing them.
Hopefully breathing some sort of life into them.
I am supposed to be going to the forest today for a 'go green' recycling programme (which was rescheduled due to rain last week) but right now I'm in my nightshirt, floating around, falling into these new worlds.

I hope to have some updates by the end of the day.

I also hope to buy some new chemises to paint in when I have some $.
(funky, not sexy. polka dots, not lace...just the heat here...it can drive a woman insane)

Love and sparkles.
S.

Stuff You Should Know

Mind Your Business: You Will Lose All The Rights to Your Own Art
Mark Simon is mad as hell and, in this month's "Mind Your Business," he tells you why you should be too.

April 10, 2008
By Mark Simon
Printable Version

Mark Simon.

As you know, I usually handle the subjects in my articles with a sense of humor. That is not the case this month. I find nothing funny about the new Orphan Works legislation that is before Congress.

In fact, it PISSES ME OFF!

As an artist, you have to read this article or you could lose everything you've ever created!

An Orphaned Work is any creative work of art where the artist or copyright owner has released their copyright, whether on purpose, by passage of time, or by lack of proper registration. In the same way that an orphaned child loses the protection of his or her parents, your creative work can become an orphan for others to use without your permission.

If you don't like to read long articles, you will miss incredibly important information that will affect the rest of your career as an artist. You should at least skip to the end to find the link for a fantastic interview with the Illustrators' Partnership about how you are about to lose ownership of your own artwork.

Currently, you don't have to register your artwork to own the copyright. You own a copyright as soon as you create something. International law also supports this. Right now, registration allows you to sue for damages, in addition to fair value.

What makes me so MAD about this new legislation is that it legalizes THEFT! The only people who benefit from this are those who want to make use of our creative works without paying for them and large companies who will run the new private copyright registries.

These registries are companies that you would be forced to pay in order to register every single image, photo, sketch or creative work.

It is currently against international law to coerce people to register their work for copyright because there are so many inherent problems with it. But because big business can push through laws in the United States, our country is about to break with the rest of the world, again, and take your rights away.

With the tens of millions of photos and pieces of artwork created each year, the bounty for forcing everyone to pay a registration fee would be enormous. We lose our rights and our creations, and someone else makes money at our expense.

This includes every sketch, painting, photo, sculpture, drawing, video, song and every other type of creative endeavor. All of it is at risk!

If the Orphan Works legislation passes, you and I and all creatives will lose virtually all the rights to not only our future work but to everything we've created over the past 34 years, unless we register it with the new, untested and privately run (by the friends and cronies of the U.S. government) registries. Even then, there is no guarantee that someone wishing to steal your personal creations won't successfully call your work an orphan work, and then legally use it for free.

In short, if Congress passes this law, YOU WILL LOSE THE RIGHT TO MAKE MONEY FROM YOUR OWN CREATIONS!

Why is this allowed to happen? APATHY and MONEY.

Artists have apathy and corporations have money.

We need to be heard in order to protect our incomes, our creations and our careers. GET OFF YOUR ASS!

That means writing letters to our congressmen and representatives. That means voicing your opinion about how we need copyright protection, as we've had since 1976, that protects everything we create from the moment we create it. This is the case around the world.

However, an Orphan Works bill is also in the works in Europe. I was speaking recently with Roger Dean, the famed artist of the Yes album covers, and he is greatly concerned with what will happen if Orphan Works bills become law.

"This will devastate the livelihood of artists, photographers and designers in a number of ways," Dean says. "That at the behest of a few hugely rich corporations who got rich by selling art that they played no part in the making of, the U.S. and U.K. governments are changing the copyright laws to protect the infringer instead of the creator. This is unjust, culturally destructive and commercial lunacy. This will not just hurt millions of artists around the world.

"On the other side of the coin, what argument will a U.S. court have with a Chinese company that insists it did its research in China and found nothing? If the cost of this is onerous for a U.S.-based artist, what will it be like for artists and small businesses in emergent economies?"

If an artist whose work is as famous as Roger Dean's is concerned with this legislation, it should be of great concern for all of us.

The people, associations and companies behind the Orphan Works bill state that orphaned works have no value. If that were true, no one would want them. However, these same companies DO WANT your work, they just don't want to pay for it. If someone wants something, IT HAS VALUE. It's pretty simple.

Some major art and photography associations, or I should say, the managers of the associations, support this bill. The reason they support it is that they will operate some of the registries and stand to make a lot of money. Some have already been given millions of dollars by the Library of Congress. Follow the money and you will see why some groups support this bill of legalized theft of everything you have ever created.

Two proponents of this new legislation are Corbis and Getty Images. They are large stock photo and stock art companies. They sell art and photos inexpensively and are trying to build giant royalty-free databases. Do you see how they could benefit from considering most works of art in the world orphans?

Do you know who owns Corbis? Bill Gates. He doesn't do anything unless it can make a huge amount of money. Helping you lose the copyright to your art is big business for Gates.

For years we've heard of Hollywood fighting with China to protect copyrights and stop the pirating of DVDs. Our government has worked with the studios to protect their investment.

Our government is NOW WORKING AGAINST US by allowing our own fellow citizens TO STEAL OUR CREATIVE WORKS.

It will be easy for them to get away with it unless we make ourselves heard.

Your calls and letters do work. I've seen many instances in which a single letter made a difference in public policy. Tens of thousands of calls and letters help even more.

This is not empty talk. I have written letters to my congressmen and I will do so again. I do what I can to let every creator know about terrible legislation like this... thus you are reading articles like this one and you can listen to interviews I've posted online.

CONTACT YOUR LEGISLATOR:
Go to http://www.usa.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml to quickly find the phone number, address and e-mail of every U.S. senator, U.S. representative, governor and state legislator.

Forward this article to every creator you know and urge them to take a moment to protect their very livelihood. I am giving everyone the right to reprint this article in any form to help spread the word to protect our creative rights.

Instead of sitting around watching TV tonight, TiVo that show, write a letter and make yourself heard.

Letters to our government officials don't have to be long, but they should be heartfelt. A good story helps. Tell them who you are, how this legislation negatively affects you and that you want them to vote against the Orphan Works legislation. It's that easy!

If you don't, you will have only yourself to blame when you see other people making money from your art and you don't see a dime.

Spider-Man comic artist Alex Saviuk is also concerned about the loss of copyright protection. "When I found out all the negative aspects of the new legislation, it would almost behoove us to want to do something else for a living," says Saviuk. "If we would have to register with all the different companies, we would never be able to make a living."

"It would be impossible for me to register all my art," continues Saviuk. "It would put me out of business."

You can listen to my complete interview with Alex online. Think this doesn't apply to you? Maybe you don't license your artwork? How about this?

Photos on the internet could be orphaned. With tens of millions of photos shared online with services like Flickr, Shutterfly and Snapfish, there is a huge opportunity for unauthorized use of your photos... legally.

You could see photos you take of your family and kids, or of a family vacation, used in a magazine or newspaper without your permission or payment to you. You would have to pay to register your photos, all of them, in every new registry in order to protect them. Say the average person takes 300 photos per year (I take a lot more than that). If a registry only charges $5 per image, that is a whopping $1,500 to protect your photos that are protected automatically under the current laws. If there are three registries, protecting your images could cost an amazing $4,500. Not to mention the time it would take to register every photo you take. Plus, you will also have to place your copyright sign on every photo.

That's not including all your art, sketches, paintings, 3D models, animations, etc. Do you really have all that extra time and money? Plus, even if you do register, the people stealing your work can still claim it was orphaned and, unless you fight them, they win. Even if you win, you may not make back your legal fees.

It gets even better. Anyone can submit images, including your images. They would then be excused from any liability for infringement (also known as THEFT) unless the legitimate rights owner (you) responds within a certain period of time to grant or deny permission to use your work.

That means you will also have to look through every image in every registry all the time to make sure someone is not stealing and registering your art. You could actually end up illegally using your own artwork if someone else registers it. DOES ANYONE SEE A PROBLEM WITH THIS?

Do you think the U.S. Copyright Office is here to protect you from this legislation? Think again.

Brad Holland of the Illustrators' Partnership shares his notes from a recent meeting with David O. Carson, general counsel of the Copyright Office.

Brad Holland: If a user can't find a registered work at the Copyright Office, hasn't the Copyright Office facilitated the creation of an orphaned work?

David O. Carson: Copyright owners will have to register their images with private registries.

BH: But what if I exercise my exclusive right of copyright and choose not to register?

DOC: If you want to go ahead and create an orphan work, be my guest!

This cavalier and disrespectful dialogue should have you seeing red. Who the hell does he think he is? Carson should be fired and RUN OUT OF WASHINGTON!

None of this could happen with our current laws. Our current laws work and they protect us and our creations.

The only people who will benefit from the copyright law change are those who can't create work on their own or companies who stand to make a lot of money from using our works of art. They make contributions to congressmen, which is why they get what they want. We need to stand up and be heard. Every one of you need to write your senators and representatives. We have to protect our livelihoods. It's that serious.

Plus, the technologies being developed for locating visual art don't work well enough. On March 13, 2008, PicScout, the creators of one of the software applications used in the registries, stated to the House IP subcommittee:

"Our technology can match images, or partial information of an image, with 99% success."

A 1% margin of error is huge when you consider the millions of searches performed for art every day. That means for every million searches, 10,000 images could be orphaned.

Plus, this only takes into account images registered on their system. If you have registered all your work on another system, they won't be searched here and, even though you may have spent thousands of dollars registering your creations, a new or unused directory could orphan everything you've ever created.

This is just one of the many reasons why INTERNATIONAL LAW FORBIDS COERCED REGISTRATION as a condition of protecting your copyright. The United States is about to break international law by making us register our works. The people behind the bill say it's not forced registration, but you won't have any rights unless you register. THIS IS SEMANTICS! Of course, this is forced registration and we can't stand for it!

There are many, many other problems with the Orphan Works legislation. As a creator, YOU MUST understand what is going on.

For additional information on Orphan Works developments, go to the IPA Orphan Works Resource Page for Artists.

This is not something that is going to go away easily. We need to be vocal NOW!

This legislation has been beaten or delayed for the past two years and they will keep trying until it passes. This is no time to be quiet and see what happens. What will happen depends on you. Send e-mails and call your congressmen. Ownership of your own creations depends on it.

Roger Dean sums this up well. "Where are the colleges and universities in all this? Has the whole world gone to sleep?"

GET ON ORPHAN WORKS E-MAIL LIST
To be notified of the latest information on the Orphan Works bill and when to contact your legislators, send an e-mail and ask to be added to the Orphan Works list.

AUDIO INTERVIEW LINK
I have recorded a fantastic interview with Brad Holland of the Illustrators' Partnership regarding this bill and what it means to us as artists. Please listen and learn more about how you may lose ownership of all your art and photos. This article and the recorded interview are available for anyone to use in print or online. Please forward this information to every person and group you know so that we can work together and protect our creations and livelihoods.

Mark Simon is an award-winning animation producer/director and speaker. He speaks around the world on subjects about art, animation and TV production. His copyrighted companies may be found online at www.SellYourTvConceptNow.com and www.Storyboards-East.com. He may be reached at marksimonbooks@yahoo.com.

Portions of this article use information and phrasing provided by the Illustrators' Partnership.

Goddess

A new goddess is born!
Thank goodness she wasn't born in America.

Girl With Two Faces.

I shall light a stick of incense for her!

Tuesday

This is what excitement looks like.



Oh and IT LOOKS LIKE THIS!!!

(watch the vid)

On that note I know *exactly* what I would kill to have in my studio.
But I don't know if they actually exist.

*runs off to google*

***edited to add*** What I want has been made! But they are extremely rare, only some were made and now everybody is trying to find them. *sigh* I shall continue the search. Before I die I will have these things in my studio. I will. I will. I want.

Exciting New Day

I'm so excited for the day!
After 3 days of not going to the park (my workout buddy was out of state) we just squeezed a fabulous 10 miles in. We're running again and our times are getting back on track...because of this I got home much earlier this morn than expected!
The day is gloomy outside and somewhat cold inside but I have works drawn up to start and complete.
I am very excited.
When these works are painted and start to dry I will take photos for a new series and hopefully draw those up, too.
I am eating a Luna Bar for breakfast, wrapped in a scarf and blanket, and am about to turn the heater on and get started.

I am very excited for today!

Now, to find some good music....

Australian Commissions

Yay!
These paintings FINALLY made it to Australia!!




*does the happy postal dance*

I Have A Lightbox!

I am learning to use it.
*grin*

My Heart Flutters

My friend said she was running around singing yesterday.
I demanded to hear.
She sent me this:



I love my people.
I do.
They're just...
They're just the *best* people I know!

Yay!

Boy updated his site!

Boy's Stuff! Huzzah!

Gak

Had visitors last night so I couldn't complete my goal for the day.
Not a failure, though!
I have all the models ready and I'm about to draw up the works.

From a mail I sent ealier:

w o r k .

I'm TIRED of not having affordable art.
I wish I did, but I don't.
And in saying that, my work isn't expensive for what it is, it's just expensive for the people I want it to reach.
It's always the stupid artist's problem...making things affordable but also trying to make a living.

I've decided that every other month I am going to sit down and paint for cheap.
That means not painting on wooden frames or constructing them, but painting on paper. This heavily decreases construction time and postage costs. The paint also dries *a lot* faster on paper which means - again - my time input can be less. And if I sell these works online no gallery will charge a commission fee so I won't have to bump the prices up to cover it.

So I'm hoping on somewhere like my ETSY store, I can put works for sale ranging $30-$50, as opposed to $100-$150.

I'm going to experiment today and see how long it takes me to paint some works on paper. Figure out the bare material costs. And the cheapest, set-rate, postage.

I want funky people to have my art, you know? And all the funky people I know are as poor as I am.
I *personally* think all art should be free but that doesn't help my living situation any.

So....wish me luck in creating cheaper works!
I'll keep y'all posted!

And...good morning world!

Er...
And that's really where I'm at.
*sprints off*

If You Will

Ignore, if you will, the empty ETSY box on your right.
I just had to take down the butterfly series.
Why, do you ask?
Because they have a new home.
Not only a new home but the BEST NEW HOME in the WHOLE WIDE WORLD!

My darling friend Lisa decided to buy one and I decided to gift her the other two as a birthday present and a graduation present.

You guys seriously don't know how much this chicka means to me.

I'm so glad they belong to her now.
She's just...
well.
I've said it a million times.
She's my this:



It always means so much more when my paintings are with the people I love.

Today's Goal

Start & finish three pieces on paper to sell for cheap on ETSY.
I hate charging a lot for a work but with time and materials often I have no choice.
Painting on paper will:

1. Take no construction time
2. Dry a lot faster

I'll still have to find models, concepts and complete the works and it's already noon and I have to run errands and I have a kids birthday party to go to. Oh, and I'm working on 'The Painter'

But besides all that...THAT is my goal for today.
I know I can totally make it work if I get a shuffle on.

Uh-Oh!

I think I am in love with this site!

Red Lead Paperworks.

Huzzah!

The Storms

The storms finally hit last night.
I'm so happy.
Firstly because I love violent weather (put me in a tent under an avalanche) and secondly because it clears the air so I can paint.
I mean that literally, too, not figuratively. The past three days the air has hung heavy and wet, almost suffocating. I walked around in a daze feeling like I had dressed myself backwards, feeling like I needed to wipe my skin down with alcohol, feeling weighted. When the storms broke, the heavens opened and the rain washed down...I danced.
And today it is still raining.
And maybe even tomorrow.
But I hope, when it stops, the air will be dry again. And then all the paint I apply will dry again, in hours as opposed to days.

Also, the tornadoes are here. If that won't dry a painting I can't tell you what will. ;) One touched down in town last night. If I end up in OZ...well, you know. Please don't rescue me from the field of poppies. This girl is down for a nap.

And So It Has Begun

This Is Why....

This is why I stopped reading books.
Somebody else said it so much better and said it about music.

"i have said before that maybe i should not be allowed to listen to music. it splits my skin and makes me feel so exposed."

Okay...maybe you needed to read the rest of her paragraph to put it in context.
But that is the reason I don't read books.

You'll never know unless it shakes you.
Do you shake?

Rough Day

In The Kitchen

For more food art, click here:

In The Kitchen.

Olympics

I'm so excited for the olympics, I can barely breathe.

I Want To Know This Guy

And frolick naked in bubbles, too.

Somewhat Beautiful

When I put some masonite up to spray paint today I couldn't see any sort of reflection, until I started spraying.
Then, as I went along, I could see myself reflected.

It was like I was spraying painting myself onto the canvas.

And that was pretty neat.