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Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in
Aisling D'Art's LiveJournal:
| Thursday, August 5th, 2004 | ||||
| 2:54 pm | cool concepts From Neil Gaiman's blog: The Library of Unwritten Books. And, from Layers of Meaning, I am in LOVE with Postal Seance by Henrik Drescher. | |||
| 1:45 pm | in the mail... All of the paintings went out in the mail this morning. And, from now on I'm using the local pack & ship place for my larger pieces. I spent 45 minutes (and a lot of perspiration) in my studio, taping together two Priority Mail boxes to hold one oversized painting. I'm crossing my fingers that it holds together okay. Oh, with the amount of packing tape that I used--enough that I should buy stock in the company that makes it--the box should be fine, but... I get a little neurotic about this sort of thing. *blush and grin* But then I spent $7. and a mere two minutes at the pack & ship place, having them package the second painting. The latter was well worth it, and it cost me no more than if I'd bought the box and the peanuts at Office Max or something. So anyway, this being my last afternoon in traffic--we'll leave in about an hour and I'll return home around five tonight--I'm probably not going to work on the six sunrise paintings today. But, I'll take a fresh look at them tomorrow. SO much is changing in our lives now, and I am so excited about this. *bounce, bounce* And, oh yes, I have my airplane tickets and hotel reservations for Phoenix. 28 students have signed up so far. There are just two seats left in my Wildly Creative Art Journaling workshop, and five openings in my Drawing for People Who Can't Draw class. And, I'll be vending all day Saturday (Aug 28th, 10 - 4, www.artunraveled.com) so mark your calendar if you live near Phoenix, and stop by to say hello! | |||
| Wednesday, August 4th, 2004 | ||||
| 7:03 pm | Things I've learned today I'm still working on the sunrise series. Today, I learned that prissy little brushstrokes don't work for me. Oh, I can paint them, but they look about as natural as... Okay, can you picture me with a perm? Tight little curls? *shudder* Yes. That natural. *chuckle* See, I had the idea that I wanted to include lots & lots of colors in the greenery at the foreground. So, I used a very small filbert brush (that's a stiff, short-bristled brush, best for applying paint in thick, mushy strokes). And, six canvases later... ick! *wrinkles nose & sticks out tongue* Tomorrow morning, when this thick paint has dried, I'm picking up a nice FAT brush and painting over all the prissy little strokes. *enthusiastic nod* Looking at these perfectly awful canvases, I realized part of my problem: When I was a kid, I idolized Robert Douglas Hunter. I'm serious. I'd sit at his feet and watch him paint, totally ga-gah over his personal and artistic style. But, if you've looked at that link... my art and his are pretty much polar opposites. I'm amazed that he studied with Henry Hensche, because it looks to me as if Hunter is a pro at local color, most of all. Anyway... I think that I was still hoping to integrate some of Hunter's style into mine. And, I don't think that's going to work. (But boyohboy, I'd love to get what he does for his paintings...!) I'm still working on finding my artistic voice. Every day, I'm making progress. But, that progress doesn't always translate into finished art that I can sell. Or even finished art, period. Right now, these canvases are at the "dog ugly" stage. I'm saying that hopefully, because--if you've heard me talk about my fabric art--I'm a firm believer in the maxim that all quilts go through a "dog ugly" stage at some point. If it didn't happen earlier in the quiltmaking progress, it catches up with you as you put those final stitches in place. So, you want to gasp in horror during the process... preferably well before those final stitches! *nodnodnod* Tonight, I'm hoping that my canvases are like that. I'm going to get up in the morning with a fresh outlook, and see what will transform these canvases into little gems. OR, I'll gesso over the lot of them, and work with a new idea. *grin and shrug* But that's what's going on today. I'm utterly in love with the collages that I put into eBay today. But, the paintings are still regrettable. Let's see how they look to me in the morning. I'm not quite demoralized right now, but I'm definitely frustrated. This will probably translate into a particularly intense romp with HT in the morning. (Yes, I know... TMI! *chuckle*) | |||
| 6:51 pm | VERY eager to see what happens next Tomorrow is the last day that I drive HT to work. It's been a long year+ while he couldn't drive, and I'm eager to see how things change when I have full days for work/play, and uninterrupted sleep. Oh, I don't expect it to change overnight. I'm expecting a couple of weeks of adjustment, establishing new rhythms, and so on. Yet, I'm also feeling a little sad in a way. Sure, the commuting has been inconvenient at times, especially when it's hot out. (We reached 101 degrees F. today.) But, it's been fabulous to have this time together each day, just the two of us, pointing out funny bumperstickers & interesting people and business names, etc. HT and I always have a great time together, and now... it's about an hour (or so) less that we'll share, each day. I feel scandalously selfish saying that. I mean, I have no idea how he's kept his sanity this past year. I can't even think of how it'd be, to ask others for a lift whenever I wanted to go somewhere. I'd have been alternately cranky and petulant, I think. HT's humor barely even flickered, even when I knew that he was frustrated by the constraints. Really, HT has been amazing through this, and I know how much he'll revel in it as he regains that sense of autonomy and independence again. Anyway, this is a milestone for us, and a very positive one. I'll miss our time together in the car, but I know that--long-term--the extra hours (and especially focus) in my day are vital for both of us to realize our creative dreams. | |||
| 12:29 pm | groups reminder Welcome to the new Friends on my list! And, I'd like to remind my friends, new &... errrr... enduring, *grin* about two fun lists that I created and still moderate: WildArtDolls has over 900 wildly creative artists making figures and dolls that are "not cute." Right now, we're discussing types of displays and stands for art dolls. AJmarketing, which spun-off from my original AJ2 group, now has nearly 300 members. We're discussing ways to earn a living as artists. While the group began with a focus on paper and mixed media arts, our membership now includes photographers, painters, and other media, so our discussions are wider in scope as well. When you join, be sure to surf through our archives for everything from where to buy a widget, to how to sell more at eBay, and how to get your website listed at Google. | |||
| 11:43 am | new art product Texas Art Supply recently started carrying products called "Pro Art." They're beyond "student grade"... they're for complete penny-pinchers! ( Product review ) | |||
| 11:07 am | three new collages I've just listed these at eBay:
New collages in eBay! From left to right: Love::Something Sweet is a fun, whimsical piece, with lots of greens and circles. The color combination works, and the hint of modern designs plus classical architectural elements... Well, I'm happy with this collage. It's the second of the two collages that I created yesterday. Like the previous collage, this one starts at $1 with a Buy It Now of $15. Create Your Mark is about bold color and vivid imagery. This is the first of two collages that I made yesterday. The eyes seem compelling when you first look at it, but I find that there is enough interesting variety in this collage that I keep looking around it. In other words, the eyes aren't hypnotic or anything. I'm pleased. It starts at $1 and is $15 as a Buy It Now. Dreaming in the Moment is a special piece, and priced accordingly. It starts at $5 and can be bought immediately for $25. This was my first collage this morning, and it integrates color & design with more depth than I've worked in the past year (at least). This is one of those pieces that I look at and think, "Maybe I should keep this one." | |||
| Tuesday, August 3rd, 2004 | ||||
| 6:28 pm | art still in progress... I have two collages that I think are completed, but I want to take a fresh look at them in the morning before putting them into eBay. There are pieces of at least three more collages on my floor, waiting to be gel'd in place. And, I have six sunrise paintings in progress on my studio floor. Each has the sky roughed-in, and the green (trees) foreground as a stripe of Hookers Green (that's a color, not a park for women who are "no better than they should be," as my grandmother would say *mischievous grin*). I'm pretty sure that I can complete most of the current art tomorrow morning. And, that's my new schedule, with the heat: I'm going to work on art in the mornings, and get online (in a cooler room) in the afternoons. (Houston reached a steamy 100 degrees F. today, and my studio is on the sunny side of the building.) But mostly, I'm sitting here with a big smile because HT is the most amazing, supportive, and encouraging man I've ever known. And, I can't wait until I'm back on track with my income so that he can quit his day job (okay, technically it's a night job) and pursue his creative interests with the same kind of support that he's providing me, right now. Side note: The ice cream truck just drove past my window (no, it's not leaving a trail of melted sundaes in its wake) playing funky, tinny oom-pah-pah music. It sounded sort of like Oktoberfest gone MIDI. *grin* All art sold so far should be in the mail tomorrow, including the collage that sold privately. (Payment just arrived, thank you!) I still need to construct handmade boxes to protect the paintings in shipment, and my brain just wasn't enough in gear (after the heat thingie) to think that logically. But then, they'll be on their way. | |||
| 11:26 am | call me! On Friday, August 13th, I'll be on the HeartsART Radio Show, which includes a call-in segment. If you've had how-to questions about art, drawing/painting, art journaling, or art marketing, call during the show and I'll be happy to answer as best I can. Heck, call in anyway, to make this an even better interactive show! (We'll also touch on "ghost photography" briefly, so if you have a question about that, you can ask. Or, save it for another show near Halloween, when we'll really focus on the spooky stuff.) This week's guest will be Nina Bagley, so if you've had metals or jewelry questions, be sure to call her for great advice. | |||
| 10:31 am | two collages plus eight canvases... I've completed two collages that are drying. I've underpainted eight canvasboards with cad red. Six of those have a first layer of paint; I'm going to do a sunrise series, based partly on my past paintings, partly on photos, partly on what I see here each morning, and finally some fantasy as well. My idea is to offer them, unframed, for maybe $25, and have them coordinate so that two or more will make an especially great wall display. I'll have some art in eBay later today, but I don't know if the canvases will be completed today. Today is the last of three days during which I drive HT to work in the afternoon. His friend Charles picks him up from work every night, and then--ta-dah!--HT can drive starting on Friday. Between this and our upcoming move and my teaching gig in Phoenix... life is VERY good! Oh, speaking of Phoenix: I thought that my "Wildly Creative Art Journaling" class was sold out, but there are still two seats left (a total of 20... a nice small class and this is one of my favorite workshops to teach). My "Drawing for People Who Can't Draw" class will include pencil sketching, ink drawing techniques, and watercolor too. It's particularly for art, nature, and travel journals. That class has (I think) five seats (out of 15) still open. After we get settled, I'll be teaching in Houston, too. Our new apt complex has rooms that I can use for teaching, and I'll explore shops (etc) around here, too. | |||
| Monday, August 2nd, 2004 | ||||
| 8:44 am | monday, monday Okay, the gallery was over 80 degrees on Saturday night, and yesterday my studio was around 78-79 most of the afternoon. After two heat strokes, I must severely limit how much I'm in heat over (or near) 80 degrees. So, last night I had a few health probs, and felt like an idiot because I knew that the studio was too hot... but I was having such fun yesterday...! Sorry, if you're expecting to hear about paintings & collages & stuff... it wasn't about art. *grin and shrug* See, on Sundays I try to do something totally NOT work-related. Right now, that's genealogy. Yesterday, I was working on HT's family tree again. I've traced his ancestry back 38 generations, to William Longsword (born ~900 CE). ( More genealogy. ) | |||
| Sunday, August 1st, 2004 | ||||
| 8:21 am | art opening Last night HT and I attended an opening at a Houston gallery featuring the art of ![[info]](http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/web.archive.org/web/20040805220634im_/http:/=2fstat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} outlaw_jesus, aka Julie Zarate. Actually, there were several women artists in the show, but Julie's work was at the front of the gallery, and for a very good reason: Among all of the art in the show, hers is easily the strongest and most collectible. It was inspiring. Made me want to run home and [a] class up my website so it's less "how-to" and more a showcase for my real art (I haven't updated the Gallery section in forever), and [b] make more art. HT had a great time at the opening as well, admiring the art, and enjoying very yummy food. He sensibly filled his dish with shrimp, while I ignored the increasingly late hour and dove into a sugar-laden cake... with predictable results. Half an hour later--to my chagrin--I hit carb crash, and we headed for home. On the way, we stopped at a very empty Catbirds where an icy 7-Up kept me awake while HT enjoyed a couple of pints and we both savored some trivia games. Then we did our weekly grocery shopping (which involves two stores) and finally we returned home for some lingering kisses before bed. Julie had introduced me to the gallery owner, who discussed upcoming shows and opportunities for my art, so I dreamed happily of new ideas to soar with my paintings and perhaps some shrines. What I'm seeing right now is a need to experiment. I want to explore more styles and subjects, to define a clearer (and bolder) "voice" in my art. I will be trying some expressionist (aka abstract) paintings, as well as different subjects for my realistic and impressionist pieces. I'm not sure where I'm going with this, but before I'm ready for gallery shows and higher prices, I want a stronger voice/style that is uniquely mine. Meanwhile, everyone will have more opportunities to see my art at eBay (I'll let you know when I have more for sale) as I try different approaches in acrylic, oil, and mixed media art. | |||
| Saturday, July 31st, 2004 | ||||
| 7:32 am | abstract? abstract: not representing or imitating external reality or the objects of nature; "a large abstract painting" (WordNet 2.0) I call "abstract" any painting that, when I look at it, bears no resemblance whatsoever to a realistic painting. That is, it's an abstract if someone has to tell me what the inspiration was, because it's more about color than a defined subject that I can recognize on sight. Oh, I may have my own interpretation of the colors & shapes in the art... but others may see something different. As I'm researching (at Andale.com) what kind of art is hot at eBay right now, I can see that abstracts are hot. But so far, when I click to see the most successful auctions, these aren't abstracts despite the auction title. These are modern, but not abstracts. Other successful auction trends: Show the art in a photo that includes a room setting, so people get the idea of how large the piece is, and how it might look on their wall. Good idea! Also, show photos and prices of successful auctions & sales, so people understand what price range to expect. And, there's a cool display of your other auctions, animated, via Vendio.com. Worth looking at. (I've just signed up for their gallery service. For $2.95/month, if it increases sales by 18% as they suggest, it pays for itself and then some. And, it's fully automated.) Yes, I'm sharing what may be "trade secrets," but honestly, there are enough customers for all of us to be successful. I think that it's more a case of creating what people need and want, in your own artistic "voice", and... in abundance! | |||
| 6:58 am | art! I'm up early with Andale research on my mind, a few art (painting/mixed media) ideas simmering (in a good way), and a full & happy day ahead. No completed art in eBay yet, though. Tonight it sounds as if we're going to an art show downtown, too. But, right now I'm sitting here eating sliced fresh strawberries in milk with a dusting of sugar. And I'm watching the sunrise and enjoying the morning! HT (who works nights) came to bed shortly before I got up, and... well, he is always an inspiration! *big grin* Hi-ho, it's back to work now! | |||
| Friday, July 30th, 2004 | ||||
| 12:57 pm | razzberries to spammers and spoofers Earthlink just let me know that I've been added to their "suspected spammers" list since my email addy is spoofed so often. *snarl* And, I'm not getting ANY of my Yahoo!Groups mail, nor can I post to my own lists because my hosting service is bouncing emails... which makes me crazy since I have removed all spam blocks from my emails. That said, when my hosting service was sold to a new company and some of my addies were closed for a couple of days, a whole LOT of spam went away since it did a "hard bounce." (That sounds rather dirty now that I re-read it! *chuckle*) Anyway, I'm giving my new email setting a day or two to settle in. If emails are still bouncing, I'll talk with my hosting service about the problem. Meanwhile, keep in mind that some emails aren't reaching me, and some servers are discarding my outgoing emails. *razzberries* | |||
| 12:47 pm | eBay update Woohoo! Both paintings sold, and to friends! The art will be in the mail early next week. Now I have nothing in eBay, which means that I'd better complete some art here, soon! *big grin* Thank you to everyone who looked, watched, bid, and bought. Selling everything that I list at eBay not only helps my income, but it's even more a fabulous source of encouragement for me as an artist. Thank you, thank you! | |||
| 9:04 am | update, Friday I almost completed an overloaded to-do list yesterday. I started two collages, but none are finished yet. This morning I've already been to the post office (more outgoing mail, picked up shipping boxes to send paintings) and taken a couple of dozen reference photos for even more paintings. Life is good. I'll try to get more collages into eBay today, but I may experiment with mixed media instead. | |||
| Thursday, July 29th, 2004 | ||||
| 8:11 am | whew! Mari Lou's visit was great fun. I hadn't seen her since moving here, and we talked & talked & talked... and I showed her a few sights in Houston & vicinity, too. I think that she had fun. And, she was pleased to see that I really am as happy as I sound, with HT. This morning, all art sold to date will be in the mail. It's all ready to go, as soon as the morning rush hour traffic eases a bit. Then, my goal is to make five more collages for eBay, and maybe a few more for my Phoenix inventory. (I vend and teach at Art Unraveled.) When the new collages are all in eBay so that you can see them, I'll let you know. | |||
| Tuesday, July 27th, 2004 | ||||
| 8:36 am | barely online today MariLou mlwinks arrives this morning for an overnight visit. I'm barely online as I pick her up at the airport, show her Houston, and generally have fun until she flies out tomorrow morning. I'll get caught up on comments, email, auctions, etc., then. Meanwhile, thank you for the gracious comments, and for bidding on my auctions, and generally encouraging me, and--most importantly--supporting the arts! | |||
| Monday, July 26th, 2004 | ||||
| 8:27 pm | rules for being human The Rules for being Human When you were born, you didn't come with an owner's manual; these guidelines make life work better. 1. You will receive a body. You may like it or hate it, but it's the only thing you are sure to keep for the rest of your life. 2. You will learn lessons. You are enrolled in a full-time informal school called "Life on Planet Earth". Every person or incident is the Universal Teacher. 3. There are no mistakes, only lessons. Growth is a process of experimentation. "Failures" are as much part of the process as "success". 4. A lesson is repeated until learned. It is presented to you in various forms until you learn it - then you can go on to the next lesson. 5. If you don't learn easy lessons, they get harder. External problems are a precise reflection of your internal state. When you clear inner obstructions, your outside world changes. Pain is how the universe gets your attention. 6. You will know you've learned a lesson when your actions change. Wisdom is practice. A little of something is better than a lot of nothing. 7. "There" is no better than "here". When your "there" becomes a "here" you will simply obtain another "there" that again looks better than "here". 8. Others are only mirrors of you. You cannot love or hate something about another unless it reflects something you love or hate in yourself. 9. Your life is up to you. Life provides the canvas; you do the painting. Take charge of your life - or someone else will. 10. You always get what you want. Your subconscious rightfully determines what energies, experiences and people you attract - therefore, the only foolproof way to know what you want is to see what you have. There are no victims, only students. 11. There is no right or wrong, but there are consequences. Moralizing doesn't help. Judgment only hold the patterns in place. Just do your best. 12. Your answer lie inside you. Children need guidance from others; as we mature, we trust our hearts, where the Laws of Spirit are written. You know more than you have heard or read or been told. All you need to do is to look, listen and trust. 13. You will forget all this. 14. You can remember any time you wish. (Unknown author) | |||
