Tuesday, November 23, 2010
The amazing thing about Photoshop
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.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Books!
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.
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.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
November trials
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. ^.^
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. ^.^
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Mushrooms: October + stuff
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!
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Mushrooms: October
October mushroom work in progress. Why is it some come together so suddenly and some, like July, I still agonize over?
Friday, September 24, 2010
Mushrooms: September
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!
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