Mind Flyght

New Covers for the New Year!

2012-01-12T10:40:00.001-05:00

New Covers! Yay! Dragon Flame is out already and the rest are scheduled for the mid-month release! I'm super happy with all of them. The Warrior Queen was done early last year and even that one still holds up. I'm very pleased with them! I happen to have a special place in my heart for YA, romance and fantasy. ^.^ Go to Desert Breeze Publishing if you'd like to buy any of these e-books!

Biscuit Cutters Have Scalloped Edges... and other musings

2011-12-15T12:20:00.000-05:00

Okay, so I know I've been MIA for a while... life happens.

I'm teaching and co-teaching at Scotsgrove more due to unhappier things (instructor broke her ribs a month ago and co-instructor went back to finish up her PhD- we miss her already!) and so I've been called in more and more. Not that I don't like the work! I just don't have the computer time that I used to. So updates all over have been lacking. :P

As far as what I'm planning to do, Christmas present making! Christmas baking! Soooo excited. ^.^ Emma and I were going through the store when we came across cookie cutters. Apparently, a biscuit cutter has scalloped edges. I mean, I knew that, but I didn't know it was official. Too bad the only one we could find was in a holiday collection of 12 to 15! (sigh)

So Art Update: Here's a new horse, the most extensive headshot I've done so far!

I also have been back in action over at Desert Breeze Publishing. Several books are now for sale!

So, I'm pretty excited about them and the ones to come next year!

Since I probably won't update for a while: Happy Holidays to all!

Updates!

2011-10-04T12:59:00.001-04:00

Hello, I've got updated ponies and news!

First up, the newest headshot, a gray colt named Tricky Business. I'm just in love with that stripe. ^.^ If you want to see ALL the new additions check out my links on the right to go to a public FB gallery.

In other exciting news, my cover won the September 2011 cover contest over at Books in Sync! I had some stiff competition so this is AWESOME! ^.^ Buy the book here, if you'd like.

http://www.booksinsync.com/bookcovercontest.html

Horse Spotlight

2011-09-15T12:59:00.001-04:00

Well, this is my second attempt at a pure white horse. I think he's absolutely spectral. A while horse on a white background is pretty hard. You have to make sure there is a dark outline even if it's tiny so that it doesn't fade into the background. Different reference pose too, by the owners request. I went in cursing this guy... and now I'm pretty happy with it. Who knew? ^.^

Go HERE to see ALL my headshots!

6 of cups: color

2011-09-09T11:20:00.000-04:00

Well, it has certainly been a while since I've put anything artistic up and this is supposed to be an art blog! For shame...

Anyway, that sketch so long ago now has some color on it. Mind you, I LOATH these jpgs if only because the colors look muddy and dull. The green is supposed to be a vibrant sap green and the blue is ultramarine. Apparently, I still need to work with my new scanner.

So, to go along with my tutorial a while back, this is the first stages of my watercolor layers. Get washes down, think about values and basic colors, a bit of shading taking form, very loose and transparent.

Next, start building up your layers. Preserve your whites, put in your darkest darks (yay Payne's Gray!), develop texture and form, mix in colored pencils to get your sharp edges and fine lines. Then step back and look at the over all composition, values, and the way it "fits" together.

So, I noted here that the boy isn't standing out to his best advantage and the top left corner isn't falling back like it should. Still, pushing it back into shadow hasn't helped much. Also at this stage you are just "working the surface" putting in details, texture, interesting little pockets of stuff.

And here's a version that's closer to the actual painting... still not quite right, but closer than straight out of the scanner! So, I've added a green layer behind the boy to push him up in space and developed a lot of the surrounding plants and animals. This basically putting on the final watercolor touches before it is sealed and then worked in acrylic glazes.

Horse Spotlight

2011-09-01T15:24:00.002-04:00

A chestnut beauty for this update, Milaia, in honor of my best friend (also a red head) since it was her birthday this past week. Milia is a standardbred trotter. Hmm, I seem to pull out really good STBs. Maybe it's because I give myself time to work on these or maybe the tack just makes me want to strive for everything to look right. Also that fluffy noseband... I want to squish it.

If you check my FB you can see ALL my horse headshots for SIMhorseracing.com. I did a lot of chestnuts these past weeks and the greatest thing was figuring out different colors for them all. Some were more red or more orange, darker mane or more golden... it was very fun!

Weekly Round-up

2011-08-09T13:23:00.000-04:00

Two favorites this week! Both of them are "unique" colors that don't get represented a lot.

First up, cremello boy Larimer. So shiny and pink... usually when I start the pink ones they look like the Easter bunny at first.

The other one is another dude horse named Valpolicella. I have no idea what that means, but he's just a plain roan. So I did a blue-ish body with a red-ish head. I love how he turned out. So handsome!

Weekly Round-up

2011-08-01T13:54:00.000-04:00

Two favorites this week!

First up, Boomin Knight, black colt. Eiii, I love his nifty lookin' stripe. I made that up, guys! Plus his mohawk-like hair was pretty fun and new too. So many black horses this week. O.O It was kinda intense.

Next up is Dreams of Cash, bay standardbred. I keep getting these guys and while they are covered in tack, for some reason I'm starting to really like them. This guy was my absolute best for the week in my opinion.

Check out my website to see all the others!

Weekly Round-up

2011-07-26T14:40:00.000-04:00

Well, here's something new, I'm updating more than once a week and with ponies! Sorta. Starting this week I'm just going to update my favorites and then direct you to my website to see the rest.

So for this week: Euclase, gray filly. I chose her because she is so drastically different from the normal headshot. A frontal view is hard to pull off (and I cursed over this one quite a lot too), but it does showcase facial markings really well. The chain over the nose was a challenge as well. I think this is my first chain (I know I've done a covered chain before...). Grays are especially fun for me though. Not only are they my favorite coat color in the real world, but to get the speckled gray look I get to go crazy with some textured brushes and filters.

The rest are on my site HERE and it's worth the trip over. It was a tough choice to only pick one. ^.^

Book List! Yay!

2011-07-24T18:55:00.000-04:00

Soooo I haven't updated this in a while. This should be FUN!

91.              Wait Until Midnight by Amanda Quick
92.              Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson
93.              The Deed of Paksenarrion by Elizabeth Moon
94.              The Lost Duke of Wyndham by Julia Quinn
95.              Ten Things I Love About You by Julia Quinn
96.              The Horsemaster’s Daughter by Susan Wiggs
97.              The Forbidden Rose by Joanna Bourne
98.              A Secret Affair by Mary Balogh
99.              Rule’s Bride by Kat Martin
100.           The Sharing Knife: Beguilement by Lois McMaster Bujold
101.           Mortal Danger by Eileen Wilks
102.           The Alleluia Files by Sharron Shinn
103.           A Taste of Magic by Andre Norton and Jean Rabe
104.           Silver Born by Patrica Briggs
105.           Dealing with Dragons by Patricia Wrede
106.           Searching for Dragons by Patricia Wrede
107.           Wicked Delights of a Bridal Bed by Tracy Anne Warren
108.           The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley
109.           Wicked Widow by Amanda Quick
100.           Fortune’s Fool by Mercedes Lackey
111.           The Snow Queen by Mercedes Lackey
112.           Fire Rose by Mercedes Lackey
113.           Take a Thief by Mercedes Lackey

Hmmm. I'm gonna have to speed up if I want to reach 300 by November 2012. I'm not even at the halfway mark! 187 more books in 16 months. ... I think I need an e-reader. ^.^

Weekly Round-up: 14 total

2011-07-15T12:36:00.000-04:00

Well, the breaks keep getting longer in between updates... maybe I should only do a select few and direct the rest towards my website? Hmm... it's worth a thought. It would cut down on the double updates.

Anyways, on to ponies! Not in chronological order.

This is Black Hawk, black colt, obviously. Sigh, I only got a couple of fillies/mares this week.

Buckeye, buckskin paint colt. Love this reference for the eye and the name reference and just the pose.

Gin on the Rocks is a black standardbred colt. I swear this breed is just weird lookin'.

Hinzi is a red-dun leopard appaloosa colt. Sooo many spots. Still unsure about how to represent red-dun in just a headshot.

Midnihte Special, black stallion. <3 his snip and his adorable-ness.

Moral Paradox, black Arabian filly I believe. I think those are eyelashes. ^.^

Neverinthemiddle, buckskin Paint filly. Went a little crazy on the girliness, because there were so few these past weeks.

Northern Hero, bay colt with the most adorable snip EVER. <3

Ogunquit, dark bay colt. I love his name.

Simulacro, chestnut arabian colt. Their foreheads look so dishy now.

Snowdancer, chestnut colt with the epic blaze.

Thundering, bay colt. I'm really proud of that mouth. ^.^

Winter Olympics, gray colt done for a guy who's daughters are going to train for the Olympic team in Australia!

Yes, dark bay colt with a cute blaze and conveniently the most current horse to date!

So I probably will have a new way of updating next time around. Until then!

Two Week Round-up: 10 horses

2011-06-23T15:54:00.000-04:00

What can I say... I can't update things in a regular fashion. I'm surprised I'm keeping this up. ^.^

Okay, ten horses. Here we go! Not in order but at least I can talk about them.

First up is Cash Money Honey, a black Standardbred. The tack still kills me, but I'm getting the hang of it. I loooove her mouth. Lookit those teeth!

Next is Consolation Prize, dark bay with and awesome blaze.

Next is a gray stud Dreams in Flames. He's the most resent of the horses and I had a super fun time doing his blaze. ^.^

Fireman is a blood bay colt. I loooove his coat color. He's just too cute.

Next is Look Beautiful, a pretty light chestnut filly. Her reference had a lovely interesting blaze/almost bald face marking, but alas I could only do a stripe. Still pretty cool though.

Parades is a GORGEOUS grulla/o? filly with a bald face. Seriously fun. ^.^

Stars of Tomorrow is a black colt with a star. The name makes me think of LBP2... <3

Storm of Applause is a dark bay (stud, I think) with a snip and a figure-8 nose band. Gah, the tack busted my butt, so I limited the mane to a braid.

Tuner. Oh Tuner. See, his nose was really off in the reference... so I had to improvise just a bit. Turns out his nostrils were all wonky and I didn't catch it. This is the revised one. ^.^ LOVE his stripe/star thing.

Last, but not least, Zimm's Free Beer, an Appy stud. The color is supposed to be "sorrel" turns out no one really knows the difference between sorrel and chestnut. My boss wanted it to be a "copper red" chestnut color with the mane a similar color to the coat. (Me, I see sorrel as sorta brown... ish... ) It's an East/West coast difference. ~.^

Two Week Round-up: 15 horses!

2011-06-12T11:53:00.000-04:00

Way, way overdue. Whoops! Had a great week off, went to Heroes Con! with my old college roomie and spent some quality time with L. My puppy has not forgiven me for leaving her with L for THREE whole days! I'm a horrible person. Now she's not letting me out of her sight. I love my Ginger-pup. ^.^

In other news, the Scotsgrove website has new photos in the gallery and I'm working on updating it to include Horse Profile pages, rather than one long list. It's going to rock.

Okay, on to horses! Sorry, they are in alphabetical order, rather than the order completed, because Lord, fifteen horses is a lot. O.O

Weekly Round-up: Overdue for two weeks!

2011-05-23T16:45:00.001-04:00

Well, that was a long and unexpected hiatus. Mostly working on the Scotsgrove Website and actually working at the barn doing lessons, painting jumps for the schooling show, taking pictures, re-vamping some pages, and getting pictures online. I'm still not done. o.O

But for now, Ponies! Ten for the past two weeks and I'm also doing doubles all this week to take next week off. So ten for this coming week too. O.o Yeah... I'm a bit nuts.

Weekly Round-up

2011-05-09T12:42:00.001-04:00

Well, last week I was done on Wednesday... so I forgot all about updates for this site. However, I did update the Scotsgrove site! YAY! Link for the weary. ^.^ My mom and I got out there and made sure to get a bunch of pictures and then I also got a bunch of pictures come in from the Rolex trip and even MORE are coming in from Hickory Top last weekend! Busy, busy!

And now on to ponies! Lots of blacks this week with some interesting markings.

First up, black filly Apparel. Different position, which was fun.

Another black filly, Little Possessed. I had a lot of fun doing her "star".

Next, a lovely chestnut stallion, Seeing Ghosts Q. The bald face was a challenge!

Test of Passion is a "blue hen" of the game. So I had to make sure I got that color perfect. (I hate chestnuts.)

Last was the black colt, Urban Legend. Tee hee, he's so rascally.

Weekly Round-up

2011-04-28T15:43:00.000-04:00

Got this week done early to make up for being late last week. ^.^ Plus I have to work for the next two days.

So first up, brown paint filly, Ahead of the Lane. One of her parents has also been done by me, Ahead of the Game. That is SO cool! Loved working on her mane and came up with a different way to do multicolored hair.

Next is a bay Arabian stud, Desert Challenge. I had so much fun doing his star and snip, as well as the rope nose band.

A challenge approaches! This was my final one this week (sorry I'm out of order and lazy with it). Bay Standardbred trotter mare, Secret Diary. Soooo much tack!

Next is a black filly, Shelby Cobra. I'm lovin' that whispy hair, makes a static pose look a lot more dynamic.

Last, is another generation filly, black paint, Sneaky Indian. I did the parent Sneaky Monkey. How cool is that? I love her subtle splotch and the Rogue-esque streak of white.

And that's all folks! I'll probably be doing 6 next week, that should be fun!

Weekly Round-up

2011-04-25T16:56:00.000-04:00

Sorry, I'm late. Easter weekend was busy! Lots of Paints last week, made for interesting ways to show the splotches...

First up, gray paint mare, Cash Monkey. Lord, it took me forever not to say "Money". :P

Second, Chick Fight, a bay filly. I love her nose. ^.^

Third, a chestnut colt, Gift of the Sun. His hair was difficult, but I had fun with his nose.

Forth, a buckskin paint colt named Gunpowder Justice. I wanted to westernize him sooo bad. Ended up giving him "primitive markings" like our barn horse, Jack.

Last, blue roan paint colt, Jet Blue Image. That mane about killed me, but I like how it turned out. ^.^

Should be doubling up a lot this week preparing for the incoming weather. :P

Weekly Round-up

2011-04-15T10:55:00.001-04:00

This week we have mostly black horses, a Standardbred trotter (my first one!), a bay (there's always a bay), and a gray Appy. 3 fillys, 1 colt, 1 stallion.

Frozen Accounts is our gray blanket Appaloosa filly. Mottling is so hard... but at least I got to do some nifty patterning along the cheeks.

Next up, our only dark bay this week, Up In Lights.

For Collision Course, the owner requested an interesting star marking. I've been wanting to do a "c" since I saw one on a barn horse named Cider. I thought this would be an appropriate marking for Collision Course. ^.^

My first Standardbred trotter racer, Money Obsessed, all black no marking colt. SO much TACK! Gah, my hand died that day.

Last, but not least, our stallion with his very flashy markings. ^.^ I had a lot of fun with him.

Weekly Round-up

2011-04-09T10:46:00.000-04:00

So, this week was slow starting off. It's like I was slogging through mental mud. :P Still got five horses done though! Four stallions and a filly this week.

First up, It'smybirthdaytoo, a chestnut Arabian stallion. I'm always confused by the long names the racing world comes up with...

Tumbarse al Sol, a bay leopard Appaloosa stallion. Soooo fun to do those spots!

Blue Montana Gold, a grullo bald faced stallion. Preeetty boy. ^.^

Our only filly this week, Venetian Nights, a palomino. I kinda went crazy with the girliness because I was going through girl withdrawls doing so many boys! Thus- luscious eyelashes.

Last, Fleeing Fast, bay Quarter Horse stallion.

So it was a pretty colorful week and I stretched my color muscles on the palomino and the grullo. ^.^

Weekly Round-up

2011-04-01T11:03:00.000-04:00

This week I have SIX horses! Okay, so one is a redo, but it was needed.

First up, Lexluther, a roudy bay colt.

Saraphina Fox, is a classy dark bay lady.

Next was one of the hardest horses this week. I'd never done a cremello paint before... Big Risky is our stallion this week. ^.^

Next is a pretty bay filly, Memorial.

Last of the assigned horses, is Sauvignon, a bay filly.

The redo was of a grullo leopard Appaloosa stallion. First off, this isn't a "pretty" horse to begin with... but MAN, I've come a long way. Given, when I was doing the first one, I had just found out that the baby filly in my barn had just passed away, so I wasn't really in a good place while working, but it's always been in the back of my mind to redo this one. SO, Blue Apache, free redo for you!

Weekly Round Up

2011-03-28T12:23:00.000-04:00

Maybe this will become a weekly thing, who knows. :P I also did Sneaky Monkey this past week (Monday the 21st), but he got featured in my last post about horses, so I'll just mention him in passing.

Requested by the owner to have a "lightning bolt" like star/snip to mimic her dam's marking. I love it.

Pretty standard here, but I had a lot of fun doing that fly-back mane.

Our only colt this week. He looks like a heart breaker. Tried to work with the coat a little, since he didn't have any markings.

A number! I got to do a tag! Seriously, that's big stuff. ~.^ Also had to completely make up the nose, so that explains any thing that looks off.

Last, but not least, an Appaloosa stallion. He's a blanket Appy (I hate when the markings aren't on the face!) so I had to punch up his coat with out giving him spots. Gah!

And that's all for now folks! My boss/art director's computer was fried over the weekend, so I'm on my own for a bit when it comes to horses. I'm hoping she can recover everything. o.o

Tarot: 6 of cups, sketch

2011-03-24T19:04:00.000-04:00

Well, since this is a behind the scenes blog (ha!) I thought maybe I should actually show how I work sometimes. This is also sparked because I just did a demo for my mom's art class last week. O.O I can't believe I'm two years out of college already!

ANYWAY, since the demo was about my layering technique and I used my six of cups card as an example, I figure I can show how that came into being. Starting with the sketch stage.

Okay first things first, research. Tarot is complicated and has meaning stacked on top of meaning. So TO THE INTERNETS! This page and this page are great resources for learning about tarot and their imagery. Also note important colors, people, animals, scenery, etc.
After I've gotten a good idea what this particular card is about, on to thumbnailing. Seriously, I never learned the value of thumbnails until the very end of college. I did 11 thumbnails for this one card. Sometimes I only need about 4, but this one gave me so much trouble. I use thumbnails to get all the "crap" in my head out on paper, it's there, I acknowledged it, moving on to something better.
Now, during thumbnailing I'm also looking for reference pictures. That's where Google Images is my friend. References are fun and irritating at the same time. You don't want to copy line for line, but sometimes it seems like nothing is working. This is why I like using LOTS of references.

A major inspiration for all my cups cards is Zena Holloway. She's ground breaking in terms of underwater photography and her images are just breath taking. Here I used this image as a reference for my boy, but notice just how much I changed.

credit

Now here, there's nothing referenced except the mood. Children underwater, playful falling tea cups, light and happy.

credit

I love this grotto print and you can see I took a lot of the scenery from this image. But the black and white only serves as a value study, I want color, thank you. ^.^

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Reference for the fish and the kelp, maybe looking at color now, seeing how distance is applied underwater.

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Okay, this one has many references. The little girl in the green shirt on the left, the blocks in the fore-, mid-, and background. Looking to change those ferns into coral, that kinda thing.

credit- no idea, it's in the depths of the internet.

So, here's the first draft of the sketch. The first thing that changed were the size of my kids and that's the joy of Photoshop. Seriously, cut and re-size that shit, no need to redraw if you don't have to.

So to end, for now, with the "final" sketch.

The great thing about this technique is that it is not set in stone quite yet. In going to the next stage, I realized I still didn't like that fish at the bottom. So, I opted not to transfer it onto the illustration board and redrew it in the opposite direction to create a better composition.

Next time, sketch to illustration board and the "breaking of the white" underpainting. (that is, when I get around to scanning stuff.)

Horse Headshots

2011-03-21T18:45:00.001-04:00

Well, I figured I'd show some of my favorite horse headshots now that I've got quite a bunch under my belt. ^.^ I'm seriously having a blast with this. Come on, how could I not? I get to paint a horse a day and they pay me for this! Awesome! You can go here to see the SIM game they are a part of and to my site here to see a bunch more headshots. Enjoy!

Book List: because I have the flu

2011-03-14T23:46:00.000-04:00

How did it get to be mid-March already? Where did the time go? O.O

Well, since I'm coming out of the flu and I don't feel like doing much else, here's the run down on my book list so far. ^.^

74. Dragondrums, 75. Dragonsong by Anne McCaffery (finally have all three together)
76. Masques 77.Wolfsbane 78. Dragon Bones 79. Dragon Blood by Patricia Briggs
80. Touch of Darkness (finally finished that series!) 81. Chains of Ice (annnd just like that on to the next one!) 82. Someday My Prince (ugg, not as good) 83. Rules of Attraction (also not as good, the heroes were so... asshole-y) by Christina Dodd
84. Burning Water by Mercedes Lackey
85. Chalice by Robin McKinley (I want this one for my own!)

These next few books fell into my hands because L showed me how to buy LOTS of books on ebay... Oh, how he will regret this. ^.^ I think I need more shelves...
86. Impetuous Innocent by Stephanie Laurens
87. Midnight Pleasures with a Scoundrel by Lorraine Heath
88. At the Duke's Pleasure by Tracy Anne Warren (interesting book, although I'm more interested in the secondary character's story)
89. Rules of Engagement (that seems to be a popular title) 90. A Lady's Guide to Improper Behavior by Suzanne Enoch (surprisingly liked these and this author a lot!)

91. The Complete Guide to Massage by Susan Mumford (total departure from what I normally read, but it was very informative and had lots of pictures and I like to give massages. So there.)

To be read: Some Brian Jacques (RIP good soul), some Patrica Wrede, and maaaaybe this old Judith McNaught book that's as old as me that came with the book lot on ebay... we'll see. I couldn't get through Mary Balogh's Web of Love, too rushed and I wanted to smack the heroine upside the head, luckily the author's gotten much better over time. ^.^

I'm sure there are more, but I've forgotten and I'm tired and I can add to this later. :P

Changes

2011-01-01T21:01:00.000-05:00

New month, new year, new decade...

Strange how stuff can change so fast. All of a sudden things turn on a dime. In the Tarot, that probably is the Wheel of Fortune making its appearance.

I don't think 2010 and I got along very well. At least... most of 2010, the ending actually went better than expected. Actually, come to think of it, the whole decade kinda sucked on a grander scale. I mean, yeah, I graduated high school and college in that time, and I got married, and moved into our own house, but take into account the recession, 9/11, the war, the total LACK of jobs after graduating, my dad getting cancer and loosing his job, all the personal family deaths... it's just... I'm glad that's over with for the most part. Hopefully, everything will turn to something better.

On a more personal level, my Tarot deck is sprinting along with 29 out of the 78 cards sketched out. Still distracted about the mushroom dancers, but it's a good distracted! Because I've been working on getting a job! ^.^ Maybe even more than one job, which would be even better! Details to come, but I don't want to jinx anything until I get some confirmations. Just... it's pretty awesome all around right now. So, here's some work that I've been up to, nothing too recent, but I'm pretty happy.

First up, the sample I did for one of the jobs. It was way too detailed for what they wanted, but I'm learning to simplify for what they want. He's still a beautiful boy, so I wanted to show him off here.

Second off, a sample sketch for the six of cups. Original is about 5x7 inches. I work best small, then scan and enlarge for the actual painting. Still debating over doing this digitally or traditionally...

I just realized I should probably update my website in the near future with more galleries for all the new work that's going to come in. O.O

I'm wishing everyone a happy and safe New Year for 2011.
<3 Gwen

The amazing thing about Photoshop

2010-11-23T15:44:00.000-05:00

So I was asked to do some photo restoration with some old family photos for one of our clients and it's just amazing sometimes what Photoshop can do. Here I cleaned up dust, spots, film errors, and restored color and clarity. It was pretty fun! These are rated from least amount of work to the most amount.

Books!

2010-11-22T12:37:00.000-05:00

Yay! More books!

Mary Balogh's: 62. First Comes Marriage, 63. Then Comes Seduction, 64. At Last Comes Love, 65. Seducing an Angel (I have to finish them ALL now!)
66. Irish Thoroughbred 67. Irish Rose both by Nora Roberts
68. Rose Daughter by Robin McKinley
(these were short stories in a collection called On the Prowl, but they still count individually since I read them in their own sitting.)
69. Alpha and Omega by Patricia Briggs
70. Inhuman by Eileen Wilks
71. Buying Trouble by Karen Chance
72. Mona Lisa Betwining by Sunny

73. The Spymaster's Lady by Joanna Bourne (which I am now reading aloud with L because it is awesome, disregarding blatant man-boobies on the cover, it is actually a great romance book for guys to get into- spys, torture, intrigue, historical France, humor, and of course love.)

Lord, I read a lot of romance... but they are just so good. :P Attempted Foundation and got seriously bored. Had to give the Odd Thomas books back, but they weren't really my cup of tea anyway.

Hopefully, I'll get back to my discount bookstore soon to buy more, otherwise I'm going to have to hope Christmas and the birthday bring some good books.

November trials

2010-11-18T09:18:00.000-05:00

Gah! How did it get to be mid-November already!?

After my best friend's wedding (which was amazing and she looked beautiful and now they have a new puppy!), I've just been speeding along with work and art.

Working at Scotsgrove is great- I get moving, I get out of the house, I work with kids and animals, oh, and I get paid. That's always nice. ^.^ Last weekend was our Fall schooling show and I finally got to go after being absent for 5 years! I'm planning to have a big update this week (possibly today), but that get's it's own post.

As far as art goes, I had a long discussion with L while we were on top of our mountain. It's been bothering me for some time that I couldn't "get into" my art any more, that I felt fake, definitely unhappy. Getting to the bottom of it was an interesting journey. L was finishing up "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" and started talking about why he would get angry at a problem, how to fix it, how the book put into words exactly what he felt. And being human, I started to apply the same logic and came to the startling conclusion that I was not enjoying art anymore. Not at all. Not even a little bit. I was doing art to please others (an undefinable, unknown other- the audience). I was taking short cuts (yes, I admit it, that's part of the reason I couldn't like it). I was trying to make something that would "go in a gallery" or "be sold easily".
Now, don't get me wrong, part of the reason I was doing this is because I do want the money. Student loans are a bitch and I have to come up with a lump sum every month. Some months I make it, some I don't. Plus, my husband takes care of me. I've got it easy compared to some! He keeps a roof over my head and has money in the bank for food and bills and loves me unconditionally and in return... I am a housewife (ugg- I hate that term) but I clean the house, the dishes, the laundry, get groceries, make dinner, make sure when he comes home life here is peaceful. And so far it works, but I still feel guilty over not putting in a monetary contribution. So yes, I do want to make money as an artist. All our lives we are told- you go to school, you'll get a job. But it doesn't work that way.
SO, I've scrapped most of my art projects (figuratively). I've kept on the Mushroom Dancers because damnit- I have two more to do and I'm so close and I'm NOT giving up on them. Plus I like them. And I have started a new project, just for me, because I want to do it, and it's a challenge. A Tarot deck- all 78 cards of it. (I'm sorry Jess, I'm jumping on your project too, but it sounded too fun to skip out on!) I'm starting on the minor arcana first because I realize this may take years and I want to be better instead of worse for the Major arcana. In twelve days, I have the rough sketches for 10 cards already and I'm still liking it. Lord, I'm dreaming in heavy symbolism and imagery. So that has kept me actually drawing for the past few weeks. As soon as I get to my parents to scan stuff I'll try to get an update. (Dear Santa, please send me a scanner for Christmas. Thank you, Gwen)

As for what else I've been doing, it's mostly website work, which isn't as fun, but at least IMS now has different languages for the front page! Oh, and Scotsgrove has a Facebook page, which is an amazing feat in general. ^.^

And any other free time is spent on this site: Discovereads.com. It's like Netflix for books. I've had to rate about 100 to get through books I've already read plus give them something to "know" me by, but it does work. I now have over 20 books in my "to be read/to go get" pile. Speaking of books, I will have to update my book list soon. Yet another post to look forward to. :P

Sorry for link spamming, and emotional upheavals, and no pretty pictures, but that's my life so hopefully you are at least somewhat entertained. ^.^

Mushrooms: October + stuff

2010-10-24T09:58:00.000-04:00

Well, here's October, but I'm not sure it's done... There's something missing. I just don't have the time to finish it this week. I'm going on my vacation/honeymoon/anniversarymoon with my husband. Has it really been a year? It's crazy, but awesome. ^.^

So far this October has been up and down. Sold my car, but now I get to drive a newer one. ^.^ Still no "real" job, but have part time work now as a junior horseback riding instructor! It's a lot of fun and active and the kids are just so awesome. Gotta pay off those student loans somehow... :P

Plus my best friend is getting married. O.O So, I'll be busy for a bit. Whee!

Mushrooms: October

2010-09-29T10:46:00.003-04:00

October mushroom work in progress. Why is it some come together so suddenly and some, like July, I still agonize over?

Mushrooms: September

2010-09-24T13:34:00.005-04:00

September is an interesting month. I almost didn't finish it in time... September for me is the start of autumn and cooler weather (if it ever does get here!) and good food and my sister's birthday. So the Chanterelle mushroom and this happy carefree dancer summarize everything quite well. ^.^

By the way- I am now open for 8.5x11 or smaller prints of just about anything on my site. I'm looking into getting a storefront put up and expanding the printing options, but for now, just shoot me an email at gwen@gwenphifer.com if you are interested!

Commission: Bacchus

2010-09-24T10:13:00.002-04:00

Portrait of Bacchus the Cat

Oh My Gosh! Update!

2010-08-21T22:00:00.003-04:00

So. As you know I got into the Juried Show. Well, I just found out I won Second place in drawing/mixed media! Completely unexpected and thrilling. I was in very good company so it took me completely by surprise!

So, I'll just be in the corner squeeing for a bit. ^.^

(edited to add the picture taken by my wonderful Papa!)

New books!

2010-08-18T20:42:00.002-04:00

Yay! More books!

Starting where we left off:
53. The Paladin 54. Cloud's Rider both by CJ Cherryh
55. The Lady 56. The Ship Who Sings 57. Dragonquest 58. Dragonsinger 59. the short story "The Girl Who Heard Dragons" all by Anne McCaffery
60. The Runaway Princess by Christina Dodd
61. The Masque of the Black Tulip by Lauren Willig

And in the To Be Read pile:
The Foundation trilogy by Isaac Asimov
And still the Odd Thomas trilogy by Kuntz

Scotsgrove!

2010-08-18T11:34:00.003-04:00

So, I made brochures for Scotsgrove to use at our booth for the Fun in the Greenville Zoo event. I have to say I'm very pleased with how they turned out. I used Gotprint.com for the printing of 2,500 trifold, full color brochures. Super professional, super fast, and awesome quality (only a two or three so far with a bit of spotting on the cover). Also super cheap.
Emi got the pretty photo of them.
It's good to see my work completed and out in the world. ^.^

The Temple

2010-08-12T10:21:00.003-04:00

So I had this dream the other night... about a temple complex and after hastily sketching down the layout I did a more detailed layout:

I've become kinda obsessed with it. I started a short story from the dream. Here's the first paragraph:

It was the red door that changed everything, just an inconspicuous door in a forgotten back alley. An alley she had hoped would lead out onto a main street, but unfortunately dead-ended. Such is the way of learning how to live in a new place. She had even gone passed the door once in hopes the alley turned. No such luck. So it was on the way back that she really stopped to look at it. The sunset cast a golden glow over everything, what photographers sought in the “golden moment” where the illumination is just right. The red door was scratched and scuffed, but not so old to start peeling, in a gothic arch that really set it apart. The doorknob was an ancient piece of hardware, bronze and cast in a swirling pattern of vines, clearly antique and she was surprised a bum hadn’t taken the whole door to be pawned in the first place. Looking around, for it was not a good idea to get too engrossed and forget your surroundings especially as a lone young female, she noted that there wasn’t another soul in the alley. (...) She checked her watch; she still had time for a quick peek. With a sense of adventure she hadn’t felt since she was 12, she turned the knob to open the door and stepped inside. It led into a small dimly lit entryway and a second plainer door, serviceable pine, no paint, undecorated doorknob. The light came from translucent paper panes set into the wall, guarding the plain door. The tile was cool through her sandals and was a relief from the heat outside. The air was damp and tasted of water. She closed the red door behind her to preserve the moisture and to keep things looking ordinary. It wouldn’t do to look suspicious. She opened the simple wood door and was struck speechless with wonder.

Old sketches

2010-08-11T15:52:00.005-04:00

Got to go to Hollywild with my sister one morning around June... Had a blast sketching with her. These were the results. First one I'm getting warmed up,

second one found the form with the camel,

and the third had to wrap it up pretty fast to make it to our lunch date. ^.^ The wolf looks like our parents' dog, Shiloh.

News!

2010-07-24T23:45:00.004-04:00

Guys! Hey Guys!

So. I got into the Artists' Guild juried show!

My "Dreams in Gold" piece will be there.

I'm still kinda surprised. I mean, I like it, but that doesn't mean anyone else will...

Still, now I have to figure out where to get it printed (yes, only a print will be going), a matte for it, and a frame! Gah!

One of the things I miss the most in Savannah were the numerous print shops with large format inkjet printers. Sigh.

Okay. Off to bed. (eeii! oh my gosh!)

Mushrooms: August

2010-07-20T10:13:00.003-04:00

I remember why I like these. I can share very easily and they go super fast.

So this is August. It's this little tiny blue mushroom in New Zealand (and strangely in India too) called "Entoloma Hochstetteri". Yeah, it's a mouth full, but it's beautiful and tiny so that's all I need to know. Plus I wanted a BLUE mushroom in my series. ^.^

I think she may be my favorite so far. It's a tie between her and June.

Mushrooms: July

2010-07-19T13:17:00.003-04:00

The mushroom Amanita or "fly agaric" is a classic, easily recognizable mushroom. I think this one is one of two "male" mushrooms I have (the other being the partner in Feb).
When I think of July, it's the heat of summer and the bright flashes of fireflies or the explosion of fireworks. The fly agaric is bold and festive and also known for it's psychedelic poison. I think they fit together quite nicely.

Still not completely happy with it, but for now I want to move on to the next one... ^.^

Oh yes- and updated the website in case that gets buried.

New Stuff!

2010-07-18T10:39:00.003-04:00

Yay! New stuff over at the website.
Updated the layout of artwork into sections and made a "Sketches" section, which could be interesting... Also new artwork sprinkled in there.

And just to show that I do still care, here's the Beauty and the Beast poster. I'm not sure how much I like it... I'm on good terms with it, I'm not going to work on it any more, but it just doesn't grab me the way Dreams of Gold did. Ah well, can't win them all!

Books

2010-06-30T10:26:00.003-04:00

Oh god- this is going to take a long time. So, I'll start with the first ten that I read at the beginning of the year and see where that takes me.

Yes, they are children's books. I got them for Christmas from my mother. She is awesome and cleaned out my Amazon wish list. O.O It's research! For science! (Actually for art.)

1. Beauty and the Beast by Angela Barrett Illu. by Max Eilenberg
2. Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters by John Steptoe
3. Baba Yaga and Vasilisa the Brave by Marianna Mayer, Illu. by K.Y. Craft
4. The Ballad of the Pirate Queens by Jane Yolen, Illu. by David Shannon
5. Aida by Leontyne Price, Illu. by Leo and Diane Dillon
6. The Lady and the Lion by Laurel Long and Jacqueline K. Ogburn, Illu. by Laurel Long
7. The Sea King's Daughter by Aaron Shepard, Illu. by Gennady Spirin
8. Alice in Wonderland and 9. The Wizard of Oz both Illustrated by Lisbeth Zwerger
10. Alaskan Field Sketches 1954-1956 from William D. Berry

Next up- random novels that I have read this year.
11. Sabriel, 12. Lirael, 13. Abhorsen by Garth Nix
14. Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
15. Dune by Frank Herbert
16. Dragonflight by Anne McCaffery
17. This Alien Shore by C.S. Friedman
18. To the King a Daughter by Andre Norton and Sasha Miller
19. The Serpents Shadow, 20. The Gates of Sleep, 21. Phoenix and Ashes by Mercedes Lackey
22. Cry Wolf, 23. Hunting Ground by Patricia Briggs
24. Archangel by Sharon Shinn
25. Alphabet of Thorn by Patricia McKillip
26. Song in the Silence by Elizabeth Kerner
27. Caspar and the Secret Kingdom by Miranda Seymour, Illu. by Lois Allard (yes, another children's book, but it might as well be a novel- it's so long!)

Okay. Here be Romance Novels. You have been warned. Yes- I read them. Usually I can get through one in a day, so there are a lot. I also happen to have favorite authors.

28. Dark Angel, 29. Lord Carew's Bride by Mary Balogh
30. Someday Soon by Joan Wolf
31. Rules of Engagement by Christina Dodd
32. The Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever (alas the only book I have been disappointed with in some time), 33. What Happens in London, 34. Splendid by Julia Quinn
35. Scent of Darkness, 36. Into the Shadow, 37. Into the Flame by Christina Dodd (someday I will get the second one Touch of Darkness even though I know how the series ends. I am a completionist.)
38. Storm of Visions, 39. Storm of Shadows by Christina Dodd (and this series looks like there might be five or six books...)
40. The Duke and I, 41. The Viscount Who Loved Me, 42. An Offer From a Gentleman, 43. Romancing Mr. Bridgerton, 44. To Sir Phillip With Love, 45. When He Was Wicked, 46. It's In His Kiss, 47. On the Way to the Wedding by Julia Quinn

Oh yes- more that I forgot about reading this year. Actually it's more likely that I reread these over and over again so that I don't really remember when was the last time I read them. They are kinda my constants, my comfort reads.

48. Beauty, 49. The Blue Sword, 50. Sunshine by Robin McKinley
51. Snow White and Rose Red by Patricia Wrede
52. The Serpent Garden by Judith Merkle Riley

To Be Read pile:
The Masque of the Black Tulip by Lauren Willig
Odd Thomas, Odd Hours, Brother Odd by Dean Kuntz

Well, that wraps up that. A little more than 50 books in 6 months isn't bad. Anyone have any suggestions? I'm starting to reread stuff (not that that's bad, just some variety would be nice and I don't count them twice (or thrice) in this list.)
During this post I was able to do two complete loads of laundry (sadly there is still more to go), change the bed, and do the dishes. I should however by working on a website or business cards or a logo. (sigh) What I wish to be working on is my Beauty and the Beast poster...

resolutions 6 months in...

2010-06-22T08:35:00.005-04:00

Well, it's 6 months in and I wanted to see how far along I've gotten (mostly on the books, but that might have to be a separate post). Here we go!

Travel (these may have to be LIFE goals... sometimes they seem so out of reach. We are planning to go to NC for our anniversary though...)
1. Visit the Aquarium in NC
2. Visit the Discovery Place in Charlotte
3. Plan a week long road trip with Landon and ch-puppy
4. EITHER go to the Grand Canyon (and other western-ish stuff on the way)
5. OR travel up the Shenandoah Valley (definitely life goals. Sigh.)
6. Take a weekend trip up the east coast to see lighthouses and stay in a B&B
7. Ride the Great Smokey Mountains Railroad

Personal
8. Get a job :(
9. Sans job, stay busy on relevant tasks (Check!)
10. Continue learning about web design/building (Check!)
11. Update my personal sites at least monthly (Yay! Check!)
12. Read 300 books (separate post coming soon!)
13. Complete at least one piece of art a month (8 done since June, and 5 mini paintings)
14. Get in the habit of sketching and note taking again (working on that...)
15. Taking up my dream journal again (yes! I've actually had some interesting dreams)
16. Finish some of my "short stories" (erm... no)
17. Update the Scotsgrove site weekly and redesign update quarterly (Updated monthly, sometimes weekly depending on the traffic, redesigns are GO!)
18. Maintain weekly riding lessons as weather permits (Check!)
19. Compete at Scotsgrove schooling shows (er... Since Flame is gone that kinda fell through.)
20. Go to Hickory Top in the Fall (as is this one. Poo.)
21. *Give blood (I like this, I want to do this! I will try, last time I did - I puked. I'm O+, I think, so it would be good to do.) (hasn't happened yet...)
22. *Learn to change my oil! (not yet)
23. *Get the wedding pictures printed (o.O oh snap. I really need to get on that!)
24. *Attempt to grow an herb garden (CHECK! I have Basil! and Oregano! and Chives! and Lemon Balm! and a bonsai Rose! and Mint! and ... I think squash and merrygolds are in there too!)
25. Maintain our recycling (Check!)
26. Have my people over for dinner (Check!)
27. Have Landon's people over for dinner (um. We sent them dinner... does that count? no. shoot.)
28. Reach out to friends more (I have been trying. Some with success others without. I cannot expect to pick up where we left off, even though I want to.)
29. Market myself better for jobs (sigh. I am trying, but not very hard.)
30. Open an Etsy shop (this WILL come)
31. Finish a longer art project to be made into calendars/postcards/etc.
32. either the celestial beings (make that the princess posters.)
33. or the mushroom dancers (I was in the middle of July when I paused, so not too off track)
34. Actually buy clothes for myself (I did go shopping! I have three new shirts! He still has more than me.)
35. Look into the local art community (check!)
36. Submit art to some local art shows (going to do that this Thursday!)
37. Not argue so much with my mom and dad (so far so good!)
38. Work out a children's book with my mom (it's been put on pause by her, so...)
39. *Volunteer either with children or with animals or both (er....not yet.)
40. Work on creating/designing characters (I have! I just need a scanner...)

Health
41. Tone up (Ha! HAHAHA! um. yeah... no.)
42. Ease into a more organic lifestyle (somewhat. I have my mini garden!)
43. Eat more fruits and veggies (I have been making an effort to put broccoli or peas in at least two meals a week.)
44. Become more flexible (ha. no.)
45. Drink more water (we've both put down the caffeine and gotten into Powerades and homebrewed tea. Not quite water, but definitely an improvement!)
46. Have one week with no eating out (oh. um. We like to treat ourselves at least once.)
47. Try different recipes (Yes!)
48. Take ch-puppy on an "outdoor adventure" weather permitting everyday (I try. Really, but the heat is awful and it's not like she enjoys it. Really- she just lays down. But I have been pushing for walks around the neighborhood in the evening.)
49. Lessen my chocolate consumption (check!)

Financial
50. Become better aware of what is in my personal account (um. sorta)
51. Stay on track with paying off students loans and once there's a job- start paying off more than the minimum (well- it is on automatic slowly draining my account, but I get a cut in my interest so that's good!)
52. Build my credit (not yet...)
53. Maintain being cheap :D (not a problem.)
54. At the same time- learn to live a little (have a monthly "me" spree) (heh- no)
55. Learn brand-name does not equal better, but you do get what you pay for (check!)

Relationships
56. Maintain our monthly anniversary (sorta)
57. Say "I love you" more (always)
58. Initiate "yes" more ~.^ (has been fun!)
59. Listen to everyone more, instead of being bossy (trying very hard to do this one.)
60. Call my sister more, just to say "hi!" (yup!)
61. Maintain my weekly visits to my parents (sometimes I go twice. I must love them.)
62. See Landon's side more often (really need to work on this)
63. Be a better friend than I have been... (I hope so)

House
64. Decorate living room & upstairs in general (Living room- check! Upstairs-...no)
65. Paint upstairs, bathrooms & touch up dings in neutral walls (no... stupid dings.)
66. Get pictures on the walls (yes! well... some.)
67. Create larger pictures to hang on walls (wouldn't that be nice...)
68. Work on the back porch (stain, awning, garden) (GARDEN! Check!)
69. Get bedroom furniture (not yet...)
70. Get a corner cupboard for dining room (nope)
71. Organize downstairs closet and extra bedroom (HA! no)
72. Finish stripping, sanding, painting the old desk I got for Landon 2 years ago (oh. I forgot about that...)
73. Create my own work space (It is in the dining room. Not where I want it to be, but it's there.)
74. Get lots of shelves (Sigh. Eventually.)
75. Figure out what is wrong with our fireplace (either fix or replace it) (stupid fireplace.)

Dreams in Gold

2010-06-17T12:47:00.004-04:00

Finally got my physical media project scanned. Took me long enough!

It's the story of Rumpelstiltskin. I've been calling the girl Aurelie. It means "wheat", so that's fitting. Sorry about the watermarks, I'm trying to be more careful about my final pieces. I don't know what was my favorite part, the "story mandala" in the background or the girl. I had a great reference for her. First time posting my references, I believe. I aim for black and white photos, usually older, non (or out of) copyrighted stuff. I think I found this from someone who got it from the Library of Congress. As you can see- it spoke to me from the moment I saw it.

The caption at the left says: "Thoughts of Love" Copyright 1899(?) of (something) A3. I wish I could get the last bit.

I had a lot of fun. So I'm going to go ahead with Beauty and the Beast. ^.^ One of my favorite fairy tales.

~Gwen

No Pretty Pictures... again.

2010-05-24T08:27:00.002-04:00

Sorry for the lack of pretty pictures. That's one issue with physical media vs. digital- you can't share very easily. I WOULD take a picture, but my camera is out of battery juice and it's not happy with the ones I scrounged up for it. "Zoom Error" or something similar comes up. RARW! It's done this before it just likes brand spankin' NEW batteries (preferably brand name lithium thank you very much!). Stupid needy camera.

But yes. Starting on a physical media piece. Life outside of art makes my speediness go out the window. I used to be so FAST, but now there's more to life. I was eating and breathing and sleeping art in college. Seriously- I never did anything else. (Guess that's why I burned out for 6 months after graduating.)
ANYWAY back to the physical media- mixed media thing. It's a addition to the series of fairy tales I did for my portfolio class. Kind of.
The real reason I put the mushrooms on hold is because I want to submit to the Artists' Guild juried show next month. o.O While my mushrooms are good as a set, standing alone is a bit harder. Thus, kicking into gear some new work. Let's just say it looks similar to my "Parsley" painting, which surprisingly I still like a lot.

Of course once I started sketching these out I had about 4 more...

Maybe I should do a post on my process sometime? Could be fun.

update!

2010-05-06T13:15:00.002-04:00

Yay! Finally got a bunch of pictures on the Gallery of Scotsgrove Stables website. Whew- and I'm sure there are still more to come.
Plus our Schooling show is next week! o.O

Haven't had much time to work this week. My sis is out of school for the summer and we've been catching up and having much needed girl time. ^.^ Like shopping and going to the salon. ^.^

Also, I've been cooking up a storm! On Tuesday when it was all gross and rainy and just nasty I made comfort food- my Great-Grandmother Mommy Mc's Mac and Cheese with a twist, I added shrimp, onion and some garlic to the mix. Let's just say Oh.My.God. It was sooooo good. It was like heaven.

As for this weekend... I have no idea how things are going to go down. It's almost as bad as Christmas trying to schedule two families who both want to see us at the same time! :P

All for now!
<3 Gwen

June work in progress

2010-04-23T12:28:00.002-04:00

Work in progress for the June mushroom. It's in the Cort. family... and it's slimy. ^.^ Still working on that leg... and the hands. :P A bit different than the edible ones.

Already starting to think of my next series. Maybe herbs? or flowers? I also have done birds before, but it's been a while. >.> or maybe just more mushrooms! (hee)

All for now. I've started to become addicted to Little Big Planet. We finished up the story line around Christmas last year and then kinda fell out of playing, but then I started up the Create mode... yeah- FUN! So that may slow me down a bit. >.>

Black Morel + some

2010-04-15T15:08:00.004-04:00

Final of the Black Morel.

I guess I got inspired working on my last one. ^.^ Morel went by FAST!
Oh- and the final of Porcini wasn't quite done - I forgot to make the text layer visible before taking the picture. So here's the final final.

I think my edible mushrooms may become a set... I've also got chanterelle planned for down the way.

ALSO: Totally inspired by a new band that I found on the internets. Movits! They are a Swedish swing, jazz, rap? band. I like it. Check them out! Seriously, I cannot sit still listening to them. ^.^

Boletus edulis

2010-04-14T15:18:00.004-04:00

Final April mushroom, Boletus edulis (or Porcini). I'm really liking the textured paper and layered font going on in the background. I may have to implement this on the rest of the mushrooms. Also while most of my mushroom people will be dancing, there are also some yoga poses interspersed. This is a variation of the tree pose. The Porcini (another name is King Bolete) seemed to be more of a sedentary mushroom. >.>

Interesting to compare the work in progress sample. You can see I've figured out the mushroom cap but am still fiddling with the body shadows and colors. The face has some basic blocking in, but there aren't any details.

Next up is May and the Morel mushroom. ^.^ She's kinda creepy. I think morels look like brains... so that may have something to do with it.

behind

2010-04-13T10:37:00.002-04:00

Yup, I'm behind on a lot of my personal stuff. The physical media project for March is still a work in progress. ugg.

I know we were warned about this after college finished, but I never thought it would happen with me. I've always been motivated and doing something. And it's not so much that I don't have the motivation... lord- I have so many projects I want to do, but lack the focus to keep them going.
Let me count the projects!

celestial beings
mushrooms
Cinderella book
note cards/Etsy shop
pull together a game design mock-up
launch a webcomic

Good thing is, my website work is still pushing along. Scotsgrove gets regularly updated, yay! And the Funeral Alt. site is slowly coming together.

And it's not like I'm NOT doing something, it's just not art work. I clean and cook and do other wifely things. I take the puppy out. I see my parents. I go horseback riding.

Gah. I guess I just needed to get it all down (this is a blog after all). Now to pick myself up and start getting stuff done. :P

Mushrooms... yes I'm addicted.

2010-03-24T09:31:00.004-04:00

Dunno if you can actually tell the differences I've done. They are there... This piece may have some trouble printing (HA!) between the "blacks" and the green (I hate printing green, it NEVER prints right).

So now I'm working on April. It's a Porcini mushroom. Apparently they are delicious. Surprisingly I don't eat mushrooms if I don't have to; I'm just completely interested in them. April is a lot more zen than what I've been doing. Still have a lot of detail work to flesh out. This one is not as easy to map out as the others, with them I had a clear picture. This one could do anything. I'm liking the idea of having textured or patterned paper in the background. So that could be fun. :/ Decisions, decisions.

Other than those, I'm working on another physical media project that I like a lot and hopefully my sis won't tear to pieces. ~.^ Updates for that will probably be on Friday. No promises though. Also working with my parents to get an Etsy shop for my mom, my sis and myself (and maybe even my dad) up and running. Putting some of my mom's stuff on gift cards and maybe I'll have a calendar by the end of this year, and maybe some prints put up.

Of course constant website updates. Updated the Scotsgrove Stables site with it's spring clothing. It looks spiffy. ^.^

paintings

2010-03-05T09:49:00.003-05:00

Well, here are the new paintings I've been working on for the last two months. :/ I was really excited about them, but then my sis pointed out all the flaws. Rarw! Having crits in the middle of working is the thing I miss most about college. I could have fixed them! _sigh_ Better luck next time. :P

First up, "The Dream Tree":

Second up, "Three Graces":

Oh My Gosh!

2010-03-03T16:03:00.006-05:00

Guys! Guys! I'm in HOW magazine! (unofficially... officially)

Technically, SCAD's Illustration Department's booklet "Illustrious" got into HOW magazine and MY image just happened to be "featured". ^.^ But it still makes me squee. (Thanks to Anna for pointing it out!) I'm on the top right corner with the "Bird Girl" image. Here's a close up:

^.^
Gwen

Mushroom Dancers- February and March

2010-03-03T12:44:00.003-05:00

Finally tweaked February, I think I'm happier with it. :/ I like the color scheme a lot more... but... I'm just not sure.

On to March! I really love this one. Still have to tweak it some, but I'm liking where it is going. The mushroom she is based off of really does glow in the dark. It's pretty awesome. Still debating on the pattern paper. :P

Hopefully more to show later!
Gwen

yay! art!

2010-02-01T14:46:00.003-05:00

Well, I've gotten some art done this month. There is another physical media project in the works. But I lack a scanner. sigh. Almost done with that one.

Anyway, here are the February mushroom dancers. Still a work in progress. A few more details to be picky over, but I'm always surprised at how fast digital media goes. Got this done is a couple of days. I believe the mushrooms they are based on are Mycena rosellas. They are small dainty rosy looking mushrooms that have an almost translucent stem.

But hey, at least I've gotten TWO pieces pretty much done by January. That's a good first start. ^.^

"hey, whatchya doin'?"

2010-01-26T15:28:00.003-05:00

After about three months of marriage this is what I see before going to bed. I don't know whether to "aww" or be jealous. :P

No, she's actually a momma's girl. She follows me everywhere. Originally the Ginger-pup was fast asleep, but I moved to get the camera and she woke up to make sure I wasn't leaving. ^.^

Web sites

2010-01-13T19:09:00.003-05:00

New site I've been working on... here.

It's a mortuary site (hey- they need websites too!) and I'm getting paid! But it's also for a family friend. He gets his site, I get a time to learn exactly what needs to be done for tables/html/css/etc. Plus he wants me to do 3 more sites. ^.^

Not bad for the new year.

Also updated the Scotsgrove website... here. New winter themed decor, updated pictures in the gallery, and a new layout to the Horses page. AND hopefully faster downloads.

Plus I'm thinking of keeping updates to some of my "new year goals"... specifically my reading and eventually my process/sketches. sigh for want of a scanner...

New Year "Resolutions"

2010-01-05T21:54:00.003-05:00

So, I'm not very invested in resolutions. They tend to disappear by February. So this year, the start of a whole new decade, I'm going to set some goals to be accomplished in about 2.75 years instead (stealing one of my friend's new years meme).

The Mission:
Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.

The Criteria:
Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on my part).

Why 1001 Days?
Many people have created lists in the past - frequently simple goals such as new year's resolutions. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks, which is better for organizing and timing some tasks such as overseas trips or outdoor activities.

Start date: January 5th 2010
End Date: November 1st 2012

Travel
1. Visit the Aquarium in NC
2. Visit the Discovery Place in Charlotte
3. Plan a week long road trip with Landon and ch-puppy

4. EITHER go to the Grand Canyon (and other western-ish stuff on the way)
5. OR travel up the Shenandoah Valley

6. Take a weekend trip up the east coast to see lighthouses and stay in a B&B
7. Ride the Great Smokey Mountains Railroad

Personal
8. Get a job
9. Sans job, stay busy on relevant tasks
10. Continue learning about web design/building
11. Update my personal sites at least monthly
12. Read 300 books (since Christmas: 10.5)
13. Complete at least one piece of art a month (Jan: 1.25 done)
14. Get in the habit of sketching and note taking again
15. Taking up my dream journal again
16. Finish some of my "short stories"
17. Update the Scotsgrove site weekly and redesign update quarterly (so far so good!)
18. Maintain weekly riding lessons as weather permits
19. Compete at Scotsgrove schooling shows
20. Go to Hickory Top in the Fall
21. *Give blood (I like this, I want to do this! I will try, last time I did - I puked. I'm O+, I think, so it would be good to do.)
22. *Learn to change my oil!
23. *Get the wedding pictures printed
24. *Attempt to grow an herb garden
25. Maintain our recycling
26. Have my people over for dinner
27. Have Landon's people over for dinner
28. Reach out to friends more
29. Market myself better for jobs
30. Open an Etsy shop
31. Finish a longer art project to be made into calendars/postcards/etc.

32. either the celestial beings
33. or the mushroom dancers

34. Actually buy clothes for myself (at least have more to choose from, right now Landon has more clothes than me!)
35. Look into the local art community
36. Submit art to some local art shows
37. Not argue so much with my mom and dad (over different issues)
38. Work out a children's book with my mom
39. *Volunteer either with children or with animals or both
40. Work on creating/designing characters

Health
41. Tone up
42. Ease into a more organic lifestyle
43. Eat more fruits(easy!) and veggies(hard.)
44. Become more flexible
45. Drink more water
46. Have one week with no eating out
47. Try different recipes
48. Take ch-puppy on an "outdoor adventure" weather permitting everyday (we don't do walks)
49. Lessen my chocolate consumption

Financial
50. Become better aware of what is in my personal account
51. Stay on track with paying off students loans (and once there's a job- start paying off more than the minimum)
52. Build my credit
53. Maintain being cheap :D
54. At the same time- learn to live a little (have a monthly "me" spree)
55. Learn brand-name does not equal better, but you do get what you pay for

Relationships
56. Maintain our monthly anniversary
57. Say "I love you" more
58. Initiate "yes" more ~.^
59. Listen to everyone more, instead of being bossy
60. Call my sister more, just to say "hi!"
61. Maintain my weekly visits to my parents
62. See Landon's side more often
63. Be a better friend than I have been...

House
64. Decorate living room & upstairs in general
65. Paint upstairs, bathrooms & touch up dings in neutral walls
66. Get pictures on the walls
67. Create larger pictures to hang on walls
68. Work on the back porch (stain, awning, garden)
69. Get bedroom furniture
70. Get a corner cupboard for dining room
71. Organize downstairs closet and extra bedroom
72. Finish stripping, sanding, painting the old desk I got for Landon 2 years ago
73. Create my own work space
74. Get lots of shelves
75. Figure out what is wrong with our fireplace (either fix or replace it)

*stolen from my friend. Hey- they are good goals!

Can't think of any more and I'm tired. :P Pretty big list though. I'll add more if I really need to.

Post-wedding + a baby

2009-11-15T10:42:00.006-05:00

Yes. I have a new baby in my life.

No. I did NOT get pregnant.

We got a puppy! My- I mean- OUR new addition is so precious and sweet and adorable. We are totally in love. Her name is Ginger. She's a Shar-Pei/Chocolate Lab mix. We're enjoying the lap puppy as long as possible.

"I like carrots."

She's also super lazy and just wants to sleep on the couch with you allllll day. ^.^

She's very tolerant of her new people; we're still in training.

Oh yes. We also got married. Finally.

Other news is that my website for Scotsgrove Stables is finally live! So clicky: link and critique away. The load time frustrates me. I need to figure out how to cut that down.... but other than that- I'm pretty proud of it. And it's a work in progress so it will keep me busy for a long time. ^.^

<3 All for now!

Scotsgrove Website

2009-08-12T01:58:00.003-04:00

I don't really know how to get the full page up to show you, so this will have to do. It's still rough, but at least there's an idea there. I can see it at least, still have a bunch to do. Can't take credit for the awesome photos (I need to get their owners' credits up there), I just do the design. This is autumn, by the way. Hopefully, I'll get spring and winter done (already got summer done in just enough time not to use it, ugg!) :P

Other than that... I'm scrambling to work on wedding stuff. I keep giving myself deadlines and then pushing them back. O.o I can't believe I'm going to be married in about two and a half months. Time flies and I have SO much to get done.

Art seems to be sketchy and I really long for a scanner. *sigh* Someday soon...

sketch

2009-07-22T23:06:00.002-04:00

Awww! Aren't we cute?
Originally, this was going to be on our wedding invitations, but then it somehow got too adorably cute and not enough "grown up, we're getting married!" cute. Who knew? So now it's the shower invitation illustration.

Yes- those are toys of our childhood. Books, fairy princesses, unicorns, art, and nature for me. Music, game consoles and controllers, ninja turtles, and computers for him. Pokemon for both of us. Yes, we are dorks- it's a good thing we found each other. :D

Roughly based the girl off of little Odette in Swan Princess and the boy off Christopher Robin... except with a butterfly dress and a Power Rangers shirt. >.>

I think this came about because I realize we did fall in love rather young (18) and it was really before we knew what it was. We started out innocent and naive about everything, but we've grown up together and learned so much. Also I'm moving in, thus, boxes and STUFF everywhere! It makes you realize how much crap, I mean, valuables you really have.

Okay enough babble, I'm just procrastinating going to sleep anyway. <3

resting in peace

2009-07-14T08:39:00.002-04:00

A month has passed (almost to the day) since Wade died. My sister, mom, my sister's friend R, and I held a bonfire last night in honor of Wade.

It was very brief, but surprisingly powerful. It had rained that afternoon and the fire circle was covered in wet ground cover from over a year of inactivity. We got it cleaned up enough to light a fire. Then we brought out the hard cider to toast Wade with and send him on. My sister wrote him a huge letter- locks of hair, rose petals, a nine page letter. She never did get to say good-bye, so this was her way of doing it. She burned the letter, maybe he'll get it in some fashion or another. He did always love fire. R and I also had letters to him that we burned. The fire flared and consumed the letters with astonishing speed while Momma recited a blessing. A blessing to let the spirit pass on and be at peace, but also to let those who grieve come to peace. Once the blessing finished, the fire went out and though we tried to make it last a bit longer, it was done. Perhaps, it had done it's job and now had another purpose to achieve in delivering it's messages... that's what I believe anyway.

It's hard, so hard, to say good-bye to someone who became so special to you. We grieve for the past that we didn't see any warning signs until afterward. We grieve for the future that will never happen. A month isn't nearly long enough to come to terms with any of that, but this way we can start to remember the good times instead of grieve for the last moment of his life.

To Wade Phillip Sprow- I hope you've found peace.

The sky now divides
To bring you back into the fold
Welcome home
Still my need to recognize
Any comfort you may show
Only grows
Guess Ill learn to accommodate
While my heart just sits and waits
Maybe God you found
Maybe is all that you can offer now
Where am I to take refuge
When the storms of pain release
Shelter me
This blessedness of life
Sometimes brings me to my knees
I call on thee
I have not the words to write
A farewell to you tonight
Maybe God you found
Maybe is all that you can offer now
I know hearts are weeping
While your voice is now singing
On high, angel on high

~Collective Soul "Maybe"

art & stuff

2009-07-05T10:23:00.012-04:00

So it looks like I may have started (or restarted) a tradition of Art Day with my Mom and sister (and more friends as we go).

Here's some stuff we've been up to:

A brief glance into the clay play day I mentioned. I made really tiny totem animals. I swear that fish is no longer than my thumb. They still have to be fired and painted and such. I hope they didn't blow up in the kiln.

Next is the Art Day that we recently had where I went over some of my layering techniques... Starting with watercolors and colored pencils and then moving to acrylic glazes. It's still a work in progress.

And Scotsgrove in the morning. ^.^ See the ponies (aka huge horses) in the distance? This was around 8:30am on Friday and I got there before everyone else except Laurie, the barn manager. It was so peaceful. I love Scotsgrove.

the best laid plans...

2009-06-15T21:13:00.002-04:00

Life has a way of turning on a dime. This weekend started out being super fun and turned into one of the worst weekends ever.

Things started out nice: horseback riding, clay play day, a wedding to go to on Sunday...

and then ... my sister's boyfriend died. He was only 20. At first it was considered a suicide, but most of us have determined it to be an accident. It had to be. Believe me when I say, there was nothing suicidal about him. There was no goodbye letter. He was making plans for the weekend and for the rest of his life. He was going to propose to my sister. He was practically family already.

It has hit us all hard. He was loved by everyone. I still can't believe he's actually gone. You still expect him to suddenly call. I still have his number.

The abruptness of it all has left us in shock. This wasn't the way things were supposed to turn out.

Life's lessons come at you fast and though I don't know the details... don't play with guns, nothing happy can come of them.

Needless to say, I hope to have some stuff up soon, but there's a lot of grief I've got to deal with first.

On the Horizon

2009-06-10T18:44:00.002-04:00

Well, things are moving along. With a major over haul of this blog (format wise) and some major life changes (for the good!), I'm hoping to update more frequently.

Good news! I have a new computer! It's very spiffy and I can finally upgrade to CS4 which will be a major change from CS, hopefully for the better.

Should be some new work coming soon!
On my plate of things to do:

mushroom dancer series
Scotsgrove website
Wedding stuff (invites for example)
finish my "Fish Lord" (ha!)
play with clay and make something pretty (perhaps cake toppers?)
work on "Wolfskin" mini webcomic
and start daily sketches (but first I need a scanner!)

Wow. Didn't know I had so much stuff I wanted to do!

In general- I want the blog to document my creative process however slow or sketchy (pun intended) it may be. ^.^

Link!

2009-05-26T18:57:00.001-04:00

Hey! Hey! I'm on the internet! Officially. Seriously.

Check it out: here

I have to say- I am proud of it. ^.^

long time, no post

2009-04-24T11:15:00.001-04:00

Here are some sketches of a self-promo card I'm thinking of doing.

Star Sweeper
The Lion & The Unicorn

Final- Pippo

2009-03-07T16:46:00.001-05:00

Color comp for Pippo. It's a Puss in Boots kinda story. A little different from the rest of 'em.

Two Cakes

2009-02-18T19:19:00.001-05:00

"The Two Cakes" is a story similar to Perralt's "Diamonds and Toads". There are two girls, one good and the other mean, who both met a fairy. The fairy asks each of them for a piece of cake and each girl gives or refuses due to her nature. The fairy gives them each a gift, for the good girl- pearls and garnets fall from her hair when she brushes it, roses from her lips when she talks, and lilies follow her when she walks and for the mean girl- toads from her lips and thistles when she walks.
My story I decided to set in Africa. The "Diamonds and Toads"story has been adapted in African retellings before like "The Talking Eggs" and "Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters".

This is just a color comp... but I really like it. I hope the final comes out like this. ^.^

Portfolio

2009-02-17T11:53:00.000-05:00

Well, I have a quick portfolio up and live!

HERE

It's a quick turnaround for the Job Fair that's coming up this Friday. Wish me luck!

There are finished pieces over there, if you can believe it. :D

Talia final color comp

2009-02-04T18:57:00.000-05:00

Final color comp.

Talia 2nd color comp

2009-02-02T17:05:00.001-05:00

I like this color comp better. I looked into color symbolism of India and it helped a lot!

Talia color comp

2009-02-01T17:19:00.000-05:00

Sun, Moon and Talia is a Sleeping Beauty tale. I set it in India. This is just a very quick color sketch. I'm not sure what color her outfit should be... She is in a sleeping/trance/spiritual form before she wakes. So I want the colors to be a little sad. But India has such rich colors. :/ I'm just not sure yet.

Empress card III

2009-02-01T15:15:00.000-05:00

The Empress in progress. I'm not sure how I like it. I've been looking at it too much. I still have to take the tape borders off the edges - it's a double border with thick and thin tape not going to the edge creating a kinda "window" square design in the corners. Hopefully it will turn out okay.

And you can't see the swans in the background- gotta work on that. :/

Parsley

2009-01-19T12:36:00.001-05:00

Value study and color study for my Portfolio class. This is Parsley, a pre-Grimms Brother's Rapunzel. The tapestry behind her tells a lot of her tale.

I found this story here.

Bayer, Marinetti, and WBN

2008-10-31T15:19:00.000-04:00

Herbert Bayer Typography

2008-10-29T18:43:00.001-04:00

Mock poster done in the style of Herbert Bayer, Bauhaus graphic designer, typographer, artist, and architect. Pretty cool guy.

2008-10-27T17:37:00.000-04:00

Fixed the net... hopefully things are coming together now.

wynken, blynken, and nod

2008-10-24T13:51:00.001-04:00

Working on getting at least three panels done for the book. This is the middle panel. ^.^

More!

2008-10-15T17:27:00.000-04:00

So- I've started coloring in Photoshop. ^.^ Still rough, but I kinda like the "underpainting" showing.

More Art!

2008-10-12T16:48:00.000-04:00

Can you believe this is art for this quarter?

First up- Typography. Can anyone guess the poem?

Next are a couple of grayscale tonal studies for my "Wynken, Blynken, and Nod" story.

So far so good. But each of these projects is 32+ pages long. Woo!

Art!

2008-10-12T14:59:00.000-04:00

Character and media study of Blynken from the nursery rhyme I'm illustrating- "Wynken, Blynken, and Nod".

final from last quarter...

2008-05-28T12:00:00.000-04:00

Mural sample. ^.^ I'm working on getting the finals up for this quarter.

update: Dealing with Dragons

2008-05-26T13:41:00.000-04:00

Not so sure about the type... but I can change that Wednesday.
^.^ I like what I did to the background.

tiny taste of what's coming

2008-05-23T18:25:00.001-04:00

update of electronic final!

2008-05-21T13:26:00.000-04:00

Here is version 2- work from Tuesday:
(worked in Painter)

And this is what I just completed on Thursday:
(here I edited in Photoshop)

Final Project: Electronic II

2008-05-14T14:09:00.000-04:00

So here's my final project for electronic II. We have to do a book cover or poster design in Painter and keeping things relatively simple we use a photo reference for our main characters.

So. The book I chose to do is a favorite of mine. "Dealing with Dragons" by Patricia Wrede. Absolutely awesome book and a great series.

The model I used was my sister. She looks so bad ass here. You wouldn't even know the picture was actually taken of her in a floofy prom dress. (I made some minor changes to the pose, but that's what you're supposed to do in the project.)

This is just after one day working in Painter. I get to dedicate two whole weeks to this project. ^.^ I'm so excited.

Alice sketch

2008-05-12T14:00:00.001-04:00

Here's a quick sketch I did in Electronic II with Painter. Took about an hour and a half. (so very rough)

Detail shots:

Update!

2008-04-26T00:42:00.000-04:00

And here's what I've been doing in art school! No- just kidding. This was just for fun waiting for class to end or start- I can't remember. But I love birds and they have a special place in my heart. Done in Illustrator.

So this is some of what I've been up to in Electronic II class. Illustrator was used for the entire piece. Done as a student project for a banner for the upcoming Olympics. (not actually going to be used- we just like to make things that could be)

As for the rest of my classes- I'm taking Children's book and we're actually making a book and it lasts all quarter. So basically, I won't have anything to show you until the very end.

Such is life sometimes.

Also looking for a house. and a job. and a car.

small update

2008-02-29T15:28:00.000-05:00

Sorry I've been MIA these last two weeks. End of quarter hecticness...

But here's what I've been working on in Electronic. I used PAINTER X for this!! There's a learning curve that I'm missing due to my love of Photoshop, but I'm learning.
But anyway- she's the horse for I think our "East of the Sun, West of the Moon" play that will eventually happen. Also there is supposed to be a girl with her... I'm getting there. ^.^

Papio wine

2008-02-14T14:22:00.000-05:00

Watercolor and Photoshop. For my Advertising class- thankfully- no more wine labels after this! The small file is desaturated a LOT, but that's how the print went as well... It's the way watercolor goes. I'm just glad it is over and done with.

Dream Birds

2008-02-14T14:14:00.000-05:00

Sketch I'm working on in Electronic. I did a bunch of bird sketches and then collaged them into Photoshop. They are a bunch of birds that I dream about a lot. ^.^

Next on the list to upload is my Papio design!

double art post!

2008-02-12T22:23:00.000-05:00

Rough sketch of a possible project. I'm not quite sure with the composition or colors... or anything. Very sketchy.

And! final version of the Ink Cap Girl. ^.^ I like it.

Ink Cap part 2

2008-02-08T17:28:00.000-05:00

There is way more of a gothic-like mood going on now. ~.^ So what do you think- like the ink or no?
Personally, I've got to do a bit more pushing... on the mushroom hair put some shaggyness textures and get a darker shadow under her foot. ^.^

Inkcap

2008-02-07T14:22:00.000-05:00

Photoshop drawing I'm working on.
Based off the same mushroom girl theme- I found the most awesome mushroom ever- the Inkcap or the Shaggy Inkcap. Soon she will have ink dribbling down her (if I can pull it off). The project is concentrating on textures and layered painting.

continuation of the mermaid saga!

2008-01-31T16:11:00.000-05:00

Lesson learned: use Firefox to upload.

But here is the final wine label. I actually like it a lot, even if it isn't exactly catering to the wine company. (gotta learn how to bend)

mushroom girl

2008-01-31T15:38:00.000-05:00

A drawing I did today in Electronic Illustration.

very much inspired by this artist I wish I knew her name...

but yes. Inspired by little brown mushrooms caught in the mud/rain/wind...

well... it was gonna get more work on it, but-

2008-01-29T17:56:00.001-05:00

the PSD that was the base for this died in a horrible server related crash on my school's network. Alas. Luckily I still have this one.

PS- Blogger also hates my mermaid files... they are not unloading - so are on hold indefinitely.

the birth of the mermaid

2008-01-25T09:44:00.000-05:00

Ok, so it's not quite the birth, but it's the development of my project for Advertising...

(I hope it's ok to post this as it is in a competition for a wine label?) ah well- I don't really have any hope of winning said competition. I started to and then digressed into my own portfolio piece. :P So, we can all assume I am not going to have a job in advertising. Without further ado:

This is a work in progress of the final. (bad photo quality and all!)

To be continued...

Post 1: it starts...

2008-01-21T21:15:00.000-05:00

Okay, starting over because I can't get my blog from way back when to work for me...

Hopefully, I'll be a bit better in getting pictures and sketches up here than last time.

Hopefully.