*tumbleweds*

Yeah, so its been quiet.

Every day I start to post a blog entry, then go "nah...I will wait another day."

But this just happened, so its going to get immediate attention.

Rocko the Cat is amazed.

8oo sales at my Etsy shop!Woo hoo! Every milestone is awesome for me. I feel like a big shot. I light my cigars with dollar bills (Or I guess $5 Canadian bills, since a loonie isn't really flammable.) *Struts around all cocky*

Ok, now that we have that back patting out of the way I can let you all down and say that I am not taking any custom orders for a few months. I have a TON of custom orders on the go and I have too many ideas that are sitting in the back of my brain getting overwritten by Family Guy quotes.

And of course I decide not to do custom orders right when Alchemy comes back to Etsy . (Alchemy is the custom order part of Etsy where you can ask for special stuff or offer to make it for people.) Its like they planned it to make me look mean! :-P

Now, where is my cakie?

back on track

Ok, so getting a new computer is awesome, amazing and fun...

but.

My Photoshop was a seriously OLD version, which worked fine for me on my older computer. I use Photoshop every single day for my Etsy shop, its half the reason I wanted a fast and new computer. So when I learned my new iMac was "too awesome" to run my old Photoshop, everything was messed up!
See that? What a messsss. It wouldn't be so bad but with all the things I print and scan and upload and download and yadda yadda, it was back and forth with a little memory stick and emailing myself and nonsense. But now its all fixed and I am letting my little iMac retire. Its years of fantastic service basically makes me a Mac Geek for life. Not that I wasn't already on the road there, but I think once you "feel sad" for an old computer when you get a new one, you get a membership card.

Oh, and I am sewing a bunch of stuff. And every time I get these lofty ideas about sewing up little materpeices, I get halfway through and go "Ugh, what have I got myself into!!!" At least I finished up a custom order before hitting that wall...
This is a portfolio, like a big pouch without a zipper. Its about 16 inches wide. Photographing corduroy (which I use a lot of) is such a nightmare! Its like a void of light, you can't make out any detail and I end up trying to digitally lighten the images and they end up all washed out. But at least it looks better than the photo when its delivered to the buyer.


Lastly, here is a little sneak peek of an experiment I am trying. Little cameo style images on cotton. They are so cute, but I wish they could sew themselves onto their own projects. Some will end up in the shop, some won't. Thats what experiments are for...

Process post! Danzig the Cat.

Another little custom order, a portrait of a much loved and "right up my alley" sort of wild and naughty little boy cat named Danzig. (How could I turn it down, a boy super-loving his cat and naming it Danzig is like a freaking fairytale to me!)

It was fun and fast and I took a few photos of...
This was the original design sketch. I had some photos of the little dude for reference, so it was more working out what would be around him. I did another separate one for the actual cat, and then spliced them together for the final sketch. This is the scanned pencil drawing on illustration board. Thats why its a bit muddy, I had to up the contrast. On to the painting! I guess you aren't supposed to give away your secrets to painting, but its not like I even paint the same way each time so there isn't really any secret. I tried to keep this one from getting too tight, and colouring it in like a colouring book, but it just happens like that at the beginning. I use really watery acrylic and blast it with a hairdryer every five seconds. And I listen to HIM.I think I should have taken another one in between this and the last one.I basically just added dark and light a few times...dark then light then darker than lighter until its high contrast enough for me. Like this. With a paintbrush! Secret REVEALED! Ok, here is the final guy... Danzig! I think its pretty cute. He is a sort of bad boy, but with a heart of gold, like all orange cats are. :-) Whatever bad thing he did, you'll forgive him.

Big Project!

OhmygodIforgottoupdatemyblog!

Ok, not "forgot" so much as "was super busy." October is so full for me, both with things I control and things I don't.

The BIG project I hinted at is safe to show now. Its a quilt! I made this for two really good friends that got married. They have been together for like 9 years so its not like they need toasters and muffin tins. I thought something more traditional would be better for them as a keepsake. And the bride's favorite colour is orange... Its a pretty relaxed pattern with black and white prints. I hand tied all those teeny ties, which I think makes it look more traditional, and makes it warmer. I really like the backs of quilts. I really am winging it making this thing, I sew with only basic knowledge and luck. But the backs of quilts just "happen" and its so neat! I also added their names and the date of their wedding. They are a Halloweeny couple, so orange and black is just too perfect. :-)

It was a lot of work, mostly because it takes up so much space. But not difficult work, just A LOT! I told them they can never get married again , as I am only making baby sized ones from now on.

Now I have two weeks of feverish work before Halloween comes (yayayayaa!) and then November which is my "sell everything you got" month. I am like a big rolling snowball, if everyone stays out of my way no one will get hurt!

*coming soon to the shop*
-wool felted baby bats
-wool felted cats
-printed scarves
-mounted prints
-stockings

*phew*

Custom Cat

I have been working on a custom order for one of my best customers at my shop. I hope she doesn't mind me posting the progress here. I love seeing other peoples works in progress, it feels a bit like you are are learning their secrets...

This is the original sketch I did for her.This is Neo, this little man cat went off to kitty heaven to cause havoc. He has a wonderful interesting face with lots of character...
I did a few roughs first, to get it all set up and then sketched my "final rough" onto illustration board. I have a drafting table thats devoted to painting, so I can leave out projects and work on them over time. I use a Sta-wet painter's palette, which keeps your paint wet over days or even weeks. I spread a few pictures of Neo around to make sure I get his splotches in the right place.
I rarely paint two paintings the same way. I learned from a few fantastic illustrators in university that everyone has their own way, some work on the whole image, some finish small places then move on to the next. I am usually an "all over" kind of worker. I kind of painted him in reverse, using the background to carve him out. On a lot of my paintings, I use a pigment liner to draw the image then kind of colour it in with paint. But Neo needed a more "traditional" painting feel to him.Ok, I could have put another photo before this one as its progressed quite a bit. I usually go progressively darker and darker, and then start all over with lighter over top to get more contrast. Make sense? My best friend is the hairdryer. I lock each paint wash by drying it.

You can see that even though this is a somewhat realistic painting (for me) I messed about with his face a bit to make him smile. I had to fight the urge to give him fangs, even though his don't show like my cat. And here is the final face. I will admit, its a bit "prettier" than the real cat is. In the photos he is a bit more handsome and masculine, but I have come to terms that I just paint pretty. Its what I like. Most portraits do it intentionally anyway... As always, the original painting looks vastly different than the scan, the computer just can't capture it. You loose the transparency of the paint and it deadens the c0lours. So here is is! The final painting. I wish I could frame it up in a antique oval frame painted black and rubbed with white, and hang it up at my house. :-)

Bye Neo.