Come Find Me!

Hello out there! I'm posting over HERE today, so please head on over. Leave me a comment there, won't you? The North Alabama Crafters are a wonderful group of creative folks working hard to save handmade, and promote local business. If you're an artists and/or crafter in North Alabama, please join us!

Shop Update!

Hiya, folks!

Just a quick little post to show ya a few of the new listings in my etsy shop. I've been bad about making art, but not making time to get them listed. 

See anything you like? Feel free to favorite and buy! If you ever have a custom job in mind, let me know. I'm more than happy to do commission work. And I'm cheap!

Something Unconventional II

Here to find out what undergarments have to do with art? Well, a friend asked me to participate in The Painted Bra Art Project to help raise awareness for breast cancer, and funds for a local lady battling cancer.

I wanted to focus on the hope of overcoming, but also recognize the seriousness of breast cancer. I kept thinking of Gustav Klimt's Death And Life, but didn't want to go so dark as to focus on human mortality. Then I remembered Emily Dickinson's poem entitled "Hope." 

Hope is the thing with feathers 

That perches in the soul, 

And sings the tune--without the words, 

And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard; 

And sore must be the storm 

That could abash the little bird 

That kept so many warm.

I've heard it in the chillest land, 

And on the strangest sea; 

Yet, never, in extremity, 

It asked a crumb of me.

Perfect, right?! I mean, I have a thing for birds - owls specifically. They've always been a symbol of hope for me - hope through dark times of confusion or helplessness. Hearing them in the night was such a comfort to me as a child, and even still today. Then there's the whole "hooters" thing, and this Dickinson poem giving Hope feathers! 

So I decided to have an owl representing life and hope, and an owl skull to signify the threat of mortality. Since I wanted the positive to be most prevalent, I covered the rest with different symbols of life - flowers, etc. I hope it makes sense to people. Heck, they may not even put that much thought into it. I'm an obsesser, though. Why else would I put so much into a cartoony bra painting!

Here's a couple shots of my submission.

I was more than happy to take some time to do it, and it was pretty fun. There's going to be a big event the end of October where all the bras people painted/donated will be on display, and there's a silent auction to sell the painted braziers. You should check it out, if you haven't already. Just click the links below!

The Painted Bra Art Project

Online Auction

Something Unconventional I

I've painted on some of the strangest vehicles lately. A while back I agreed to donate some time working on a collaboration piece for a fundraiser. I ended up having to paint two areas on a life preserver. It was a little weird at first, and definitely challenging to work the acrylic paint into the texture of the float, but it was nice to paint on something unconventional. I decided to go with an octopus, and some fishies with an anchor.

The most recent art donation might top that, though. Check out the next post to find out what it is! I'll be posting it Saturday at 10:30am.

 I'll give you a hint. Undergarment.

Rufous Hollow

Hiya, folks! How the heck are ya? I haven't got the time to read blogs that I had last year, so drop me a comment to let me know how you're doing. I think about you guys regularly, and hope you're well. That is if any of you "faithful few" are still around the blogosphere. 

Something I did find time for this year was getting my old tattoo covered. I've spent YEARS hating the snail tattoo I got when I was sixteen. I kind of felt like I just had to deal with it, since I promised myself that I'd only get ONE. I don't see myself with sleeves, and that's where I'd be headed without a strict one tattoo limit. I love them SO. I even have regular body modification dreams. 

Without further adieu, I'd like you to meet my little red phase screech owl, Rufous Hollow.

Rufous is my own illustration, and the amazing Greg Ross made him into an awesome coverup.

P to the S

My artwork is copyrighted, so it belongs to me. Just sayin', so I don't have to hunt anyone down to chop off my work. If you ever want to get a tattoo of any of my work, please ask me. If someone else isn't wearing it already, I'll happily give you permission.

Commission!

Have I mentioned how much I love commissions? Not just because they mean I'm getting paid to do what I love, but because they're like getting assignments. I never thought I'd say I miss getting a lesson plan, but things can get a little stagnant if you're the only one dictating what you do. Maybe it's just me. 

Even if I'm working with the same medium a lot, it's nice to get photos of a subject that I haven't spent much time looking at before. Without the help of commissions, I'd be painting my animals all the time. I love them and all, but I've already painted them. Not that I couldn't make a challenge out of that, but whatever; I'm rambling.

These are a couple of sweethearts that I painted for a mother to give her two daughters for Christmas. Her grand-cat and grand-dog, Murphy and Hugo. 

I'm not sure if I've blogged about my reaction to getting a commission before. It's very Fiddler on the Roof. If you haven't seen that gloriousness, you simply must. It's only the most wonderful musical of all time. Anyhow, I break into my own little version of "Tradition." Commissiooooooon! Commissioooon! Commission!

I'll stop being weird via blog now.