Thursday, September 20, 2012

The Morrigan

She is finally finished. Took me a while, but I at least finished her in time to get her framed and prints made for the Celtic Festival at Sherwood Forest Faire this weekend.



Wednesday, July 25, 2012

The Nights Watch Commission

I have been working on this commission on-and-off since late April. The ending of my first season at Sherwood Forest Faire, moving the 3600 sq. ft. costume warehouse that is my fulltime "real job" to a new location, and then a month later moving myself to a new home were definitely large factors standing in the way of my motivation on this piece. This was commissioned by a dear friend, and it is her boyfriend as a member of the Nights Watch from the book series A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin. The face and expression are based entirely off of a photo of her boyfriend, and the costuming for this member is my interpretation of how the costumes looked when I read the books. Though more time than I expected was spent on this piece, I think the amount of time I spent--including the long spaces of not-painting in-between--have produced the best results. I don't think it would have turned out any better under any other circumstances. This is all painted in watercolor.


Aaaand some sexy details:

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Shades of Blue

My submission for the "Shades of Blue" theme on Enchanted Visions. This took up some of my spare time during the week. I needed to get back into the swing of things :D Prints for sale here .


Wednesday, February 29, 2012

2012 Men in Kilts Calendars!!!

They have arrived! Limited quantity of 100. 50 are going to be (hopefully) sold at the Irish Festival in Dallas this weekend, and I will be taking the rest out to Sherwood Forest Faire with me (those that haven't been pre-ordered, at least!) I am so happy with the printing, and I can't wait to make all of my customers happy with this delicious collection. If you pre-ordered with me, and haven't contacted me about mailing it,  I'll have a calendar with your name on it (or e-mail address) out at the faire on weekends.




 12-month calendar for January-December 2012. $15 plus tax & $5 shipping if you would like one shipped to you.



Wednesday, February 8, 2012

The Woes of Framing Art on a Low Budget!

I am two days away from the opening of Sherwood Forest Faire's 3rd Season, where I will be selling my work in my own shop for the first time. I have been unbelievably--okay, believably--busy these last two weeks. I finished the last of the Men in Kilts series last week, finished my last-minute purchases and printing, and now it has boiled down to finishing some extra costumes and framing artwork. I had a list of 5 pieces to frame, my four Celtic Gods and my "Lady of the Forest". The frame intended for "Lady of the Forest" was too small, and the frame intended for Epona was perfect for her. So...I am without a frame for Epona, but I will get one next week, provided sales go well this weekend. I framed Brigantia and "Lady of the Forest" last night, and attempted wrestling with the frame I purchased for Cernunnos.
...That frame....that blasted frame...
I managed to not pay more than $25 for my 22x28 frames...only two of the four were over $20. So, the gorgeous frame with a reusable mat was $21 as I used multiple coupons to get 70% off. It was framing a generic, mass-produced "home decor" print. I used this one for Cernunnos. I thought it might be framed just like others I have messed with. Of course not, that's silly to think that! They used over 20 mini nails to attach the backing board to the back of the matted work. I succeeded in pulling 2 out with shit pliers, and ended up just bending the rest back with a butterknife (yes, yes, I never have the tools I need at hand, so I caveman that shit.) and I pry out the board. Of course they used double-side tape to attach the print to the board, and framed mat to the board. I pried it off with my hands and the butterknife, nearly damaging the thing. I was very determined to reuse that lovely framed mat! Didn't damage it, and Cernunnos rocks it. I couldn't get the backing board back in the way it came out, so I had to shave off about 3 mm from the bottom before bending the nails back straight to hold it in. After all of this, I want to move on to something else, so I will sew. Dagda can be framed tomorrow.

Sorry for the poor quality. Once they are hung in my tent I will photograph them. It's a white tent, so the lighting in there is lovely and even.






Thursday, February 2, 2012

The Completed Men in Kilts Series

Here they are in order. This project has taken 15 months. Calendars will be up on Zazzle soon!














Prints available here!

Monday, January 23, 2012

The Parade Banner!

I cut out and painted what I wanted on my banner while sick today. It was a good sick project. When it dries, I'll stitch it to the back side. Fonts used are King Arthur for "The Summer Country Arts" and Aniron for the words below the logo.

The Best Model Ever.

Besides those in my imagination. I went to the Victoria & Albert museum in London last summer, and was smitten by this gorgeous sculpture:







Sunday, January 22, 2012

The beginnings of my booth at Sherwood

My friend and I drove out to Sherwood Forest Faire this weekend for the January Gathering, which was the first weekend that vendors could begin setting up their spaces. This was my first Gathering to attend, during these Gatherings many people come to tidy up the fairgrounds and campgrounds. We had one volunteer help us pitch the tent and move things out of the truck.

This is the beginning of my booth. As it is 15'x 21' and a smidge too large for what I need, I have a partitioning curtain of muslin along the back for a store room/break room. I used folding tables, so I covered them completely in what white linen, cotton and muslin I had available, and I will be covering the tops again with some great textured fabric I bought last week. February 10th--the day before the faire--I will be returning to add a small demo table for me to work on watercolor during down-time, fabric for last minute decor touches, my signs, my lighting and products. For lighting, I have about 10 Moroccan-styled lanterns that will have battery-operated push lights that I will probably string to the ridge pole in the tent. They will be pretty and out of the way, and I may add parchment paper around the lights inside the lanterns to hide them.


The tent is a Rectangular Marquee by Panther Primitives, a coworker has lent it to me for the faire season!


This is the inside,looking in from the front left corner.


Aaand behind the curtain!

Thursday, January 12, 2012

A new favorite artist...

I was researching old etchings for a project at work, and came across some paintings by Elisabeth Sonrel. Favorites of mine so far include:







I feel inspiration coming on!!! :D

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Since my last update...

I have completed March and September. The only boys left are November, who is halfway completed, and October, who is being mean and not posing correctly! I will just have to redraw him.

Scans to come soon...I've decided to wait until I can take all the boys to Fedex Office as they have a scanning bed larger than 9 x 12! (no pieceing, cutting, and matching in Photoshop!)

I am now officially a vendor at Sherwood Forest Faire, and will be there beginning February 11th! The faire runs through April 1st, so my weekends will be taken up from now until then! I plan on selling prints, bookmarks, magnets, and originals. I have ample space in my booth--it is a 15 x 20 Panther Primitives Medieval tent! I plan on also having a demo table and chair where I can work on watercolor paintings during down time. Updates to come!

Ciao!