Introducing...Miss Sarah

I'm so excited about being part of the SFEtsy group show in May. I just wanted to share the original painting I dropped off at the Gallery yesterday. (There will also be a bunch of my prints to purchase too!)

Here's Miss Sarah. Her story, she is a 27 year old, seamstress and lace maker who creates incredible dresses for all the rich woman in town. She dreams of one day being able to wear one of her own creations. Until then, she sits in the near darkness hour after hour, stitch after stitch, dreaming of a better life...

I hope you like her.

The SFEtsy group show opens on May 2nd and runs till MAy 27th.
Artist Reception, May 12th 2-6pm

Studio Gallery
1815 Polk Street
San Francisco, CA 94109

Here's more information about the show.

Weekly Brain Mushings

I've been working away trying to get everything ready for the Etsy art show. I'm trying hard to get over my inner messy kid and find the perfectionist within. I'm working on measuring everything perfectly, over thinking everything and basically rethinking my entire life and career...

Yep, I'm driving myself nuts, but in a good way. It is pretty wonderful when you push your self father than you've gone in the past. And looking towards a hopeful future.

I came upon this wonderful TED talk by Alain de Botton.

 His talk really calms me. Basically he says we are all driving ourselves nuts.  Doesn't it feel good that we are all in this crazy world together?

Weekend Ponders

The amazing Anais Nin

“There were always in me, two women at least, one woman desperate and bewildered, who felt she was drowning and another who would leap into a scene, as upon a stage, conceal her true emotions because they were weaknesses, helplessness, despair, and present to the world only a smile, an eagerness, curiosity, enthusiasm, interest.”
― Anaïs Nin
 

Something to think about over the weekend, perhaps? How many women do you have in you? I think I have at least 4...

Happy Friday, Everyone!

(Does anyone know who took the photo above? I'd love to give credit.)

Wednesday Brain Mushings

I have to admit in the last few month things are finally changing in my artistic life. I'm doing custom work, jewelry and I'm in a gallery show. Crazy...and truthfully, I am scared to death. I have been fighting procrastination like crazy. And i know that I can't mess this up. Beginning new things is scary...

I came across this video on Drawn today.  Ze Frank's "An Invocation for Beginnings" seems to sum up all my weirdo fears pretty damn well.  Here's to getting shit done...



Do you freak out before new challenges? What do you do to get over it?

 Check out this video by Chuck Close.  He has a great way of putting things...

“The advice I like to give young artists, or really anybody who'll listen to me, is not to wait around for inspiration. Inspiration is for amateurs; the rest of us just show up and get to work. If you wait around for the clouds to part and a bolt of lightning to strike you in the brain, you are not going to make an awful lot of work. All the best ideas come out of the process; they come out of the work itself. Things occur to you. If you're sitting around trying to dream up a great art idea, you can sit there a long time before anything happens. But if you just get to work, something will occur to you and something else will occur to you and something else that you reject will push you in another direction. Inspiration is absolutely unnecessary and somehow deceptive. You feel like you need this great idea before you can get down to work, and I find that's almost never the case.”
― Chuck Close

It's a little kick in the ass, isn't it?

Now, time to get to work!

Time for the April Meetup....

Frida Kahlo doing what she did best...via 3wings

     Wow, April is already here...Crazy. Well, March was pretty interesting. Here's a recap.

1. I finished a four more paintings done for the Ladies & Gents series. Yay!
2. I finish one of my custom portraits (still working out the 2nd)
3. Attended my first SFEtsy Meetup. This was wonderful and inspiring...
4. Applied to the SFEtsy gallery show in May and GOT IN!
5. Had my shop on Papernstitch in March, (got about 60 views from it, no sales). This was my first shot at advertising, I think it went Ok...of course a few sales would have been nice. A Question, has anyone done one of these online galleries that worked really well for you? What were they?
6. Started working on my lockets and have a ready had a  lot of interest in them. I've been wearing my prototype and a so excited about the interest so far. I'm already getting orders...woo hoo!

So that what April bring? Here's my business plans for the next 30 days. All I can say is it is gonna be an very busy month...

1. Get ready for the art show. I am going to create 2 original Victorian portrait for the show and will have a spot to sell my prints. 
2. Create at least 20 Victorian Portrait necklaces. Make them available on my Etsy shop and at the gallery show. 
3. Get prints gallery ready...owner wants them resized and matted for super easy framing...
4. Order & redesign more business cards.
5. Create bio cards for prints.
6. Finish custom portrait for Amber.
7. Rework Etsy shop.
8. Work on an illustration of my friends band, The Kingdom of Not.
9. Breath...
10.  Work on some editorial illustrations for my portfolio.
11. Get on a better blogging schedule...
12. Continue working on getting my work out there.
13. Design postcards to send to magazines.
14. Start working on a press kit. (This really scares me.)
15. March was pretty stressful for me and I admit to being pretty anti-social online. I really need to work on this...

You can say I had a bit of an eye opener this weekend. I went to a open studio with my friend Kerry this weekend and man, it was great. Of course I have gone to lots of gallery shows in the past but I think this is the first time I felt that I was ready for the gallery scene. As an illustrator, there is always this weird bullsh*t, stuff about illustrators vs fine artists. Mainly, that illustrators aren't "real" artists. Well ...I'm getting over it. It really starts to open up the possibilities when you start seeing yourself in a gallery setting as well as an illustration world. A very ah-ha moment for me!

Any of you have any "ah-ha" moments lately?

I hope you all have wonderful productive month.

 What is the Meetup thing, you ask? It is a group of creatives that encourage each other each month to make and complete their goals. Join us...it is an amazing to watch the progress of others and yourself...
Contact Liz for more info here.