Making Christmas

Bill, the family farm dog. He turned 11 this year and is still acting like a happy pup. This was a gift for my dad.

Daisy, a goofy, loving yellow lab. This drawing was a Christmas gift for my mother-in-law, Vickie. She adores her dogs.

Noodie, a chiweenie. Did this as a favor for my Aunt Nora so she could give it to her son. They both loved it.

Just some xmas things I did. Hope you all had a great holiday. My best present was seeing my mom on Christmas day when I thought she was going to be working instead. :)
But I also got the Lion King on bluray finally!! And my best friend got me the Peppermint syrup they use at Starbucks so I can make Peppermint Mochas at home. Yay!

Results: the CCAD Holiday Art Sale

This was by far the best art sale I've ever done. The weather wasn't terrible for a Saturday morning in December, and that made for a really great crowd. I am so thankful to EVERYONE who bought something (but special thanks to my in-laws and to a few of my family members for buying from me). Lee & I got to go full on grocery shopping tonight because we actually had the money. My xmas cards sold within an hour, all my totes sold, and all my calendars! I am so super thankful for my local art lovers. :) And I bought a couple gifts as well!

Black Friday/Cyber Monday Deals at O'Reilly Ink!

I'm having a Black Friday and Cyber Monday sale over at the shop! Don't worry, you don't have to stay up 24 hours straight and wait in the cold for these deals. From Friday, November 25th to midnight on Monday, November 28th, just use the coupon code FREEBIESHIP when checking out to receive free shipping. :)

Happy shopping!

A Fine Thanksgiving Day to You!

It's Thanksgiving time here in the US of A. Headed back home to see my fam, yay!
Here's a drawing of a turkey that I got carried away with...



And also this little colorful sketch about wild horses.


Have a spectacular Thanksgiving all! Hope you eat too much and see all those you love!
I'm thankful for having truly the very best family I could ever ask for, to have a husband that puts up with me, for my stinky but well behaved dog, for still having a roof over my head despite my money woes, for not have to sell my car yet to pay bills, for being able to hang around horses, and for peppermint mocha flavored coffee creamer.

What are you all thankful for?

Illustration Friday...."Silent"

This Friday's word is Silent. I think this illustration conveys that pretty well.

New prints: Animals in Sweaters

Marabelle the Paint Horse

Elwood the Elk

Brodie the Polar Bear

(Look at all these blog posts! It's a record..)

I enjoyed my polar bear Christmas card illustration so much that I have decided to make him into a print, and give him a couple friends. If these do well, there will be more joining in. And I will take suggestions! :)
They are all for sale now in the shop.

On a side note, I'm going to be creating a 'Last Chance'-type section for a number of my prints so I can create a less-overwhelming list of products. So, if there are any you've been putting off buying, you have until at least Christmas to buy them. I'll post here again and on FB/Twitter when the section is created.

Hoilday Cards are here!

I just put my holiday cards in the shop. :) 2 designs, sets of 6. I enjoy them. I hope others do as well.

The 2012 Calendar is in!

I just listed my annual calendar. I hope it's as well received as last years edition. You can find it in the shop here.

Notes to myself...

Peter Gibbons said it best.

Note to self: Set some goals.

In an effort to make my goals seem slightly more official, I'm putting them on this blog for all to see. And just for fun, here's the story leading up to this need for goal-getting...

On Nov. 1st, a little over one year ago, I was told by my boss that I was going to be laid off along with another three designers. Well, I was given the ultimatum to commute/move 2.5 hours away to keep my job OR get laid off. I took the latter. The job search begins.

January 28th, last day at my job. Had one phone interview so far that didn't go any further. Unemployment compensation begins soon thereafter. I quickly land another interview for a 2 month gig close to my house that could potentially be full-time. I am offered the job, but weigh my options and decline. I am afraid of being laid off again in 2 months time.

Months pass...more interviews, I get offered a couple jobs but decline as it's early in my job hunt and I think I can land something better. But then I don't. After so many dead ends, I start emailing area horse barns, offering to lend a hand. Many answer and say thanks but no thanks, but one offers me a part-time gig. Ta-dah, and we are here.

Now, in these months and months that feel like YEARS, I toy with the idea of trying to just take charge of my work and try to squeeze as much profit as I can from it. Unfortunately, depression is an ugly beast that steals the passion you have for anything and smothers it. Art was a chore to me and that was bad. I literally just stopped caring. I just wanted a job that would help me pay my loans and give me some health insurance. Easier said than done.

I miss being excited about my work. I miss being excited about anything in my life. This year has been the hardest for both me and Lee. I've realized that the way this economy is, no one is going to throw me a rope. Unfortunately. In the words of actor/director/hockey fan/writer Kevin Smith "I have to go where the puck is going to be, not go where it was."

I'm done dragging myself behind everyone hoping that someone will slow down the bus and let me on. I'll just build my own bus. It may not look pretty at first, and it will probably break down several times, but it's my bus and I can drive it the way I want. And I can bring Lee and Cherry with me for the ride.

So, the goals? Debut new products/work at the CCAD show and see if it's well received or not. Keep creating things that I find exciting and interesting. Read up on other artists I admire, see what they did, where they started. Working through depression and stress is a big, big challenge. That's for sure.

Sorry for such a lengthy and insightful post, my dear readers. But thank you for listening.

Inspiration Search...Sandra Dieckmann (and some stuff about me)

This might turn into a series.
Feeling lazy, uninspired, and not creative in any way lately, I went on a quest to find new illustrators. My search turned up Sandra Dieckmann, a fantastic illustrator out of London. I never do reviews on here of artists I love, but I think I need to when it inspires me like this. Her work is exactly what I've been trying to get into myself, weirdly enough. Line art, detail, patterns, and of course, animals! LOVE. And she has an Etsy shop! My Etsy wishlist is getting out of hand.

Feathers + Buffalo + patterns = AWESOME.

I love the big solid colors combing with the delicate lines.

Sandra's workspace. I want to go hang out there.

In other news, the weather in Ohio has appropriately turned to bullshit. Sheets of rain, 40 something degree weather, snow in some places (according to my mom who lives up north). I agreed to cover for someone at the horse barn tonight, as well as tomorrow...and Saturday. Once you've been stuck in the house for 8 months, it's hard to complain about going to work, regardless of the circumstances.

Cherry taking advantage of the weather. She lives a good life.

I don't think I mentioned I started working part-time at a horse barn in Plain City, Ohio. It's just something to do while I continue my never-ending hunt for a full time job. They house around 40-50 horses and I think I finally know all their names. Even in this weather, I'm thankful to be working with my passion of horses and not waiting tables or working retail. Helping little riders learn their way around horses is just fine for now, thank you. :)

And with that, it's time to dig my Carhartt coat out of the closet and seize this rainy, yucky day.

Log Cabin Love...Holla!

Opened up my Etsy newsletter in my email today...The title being 'Log Cabin Love'. I LOVE log cabins indeed. I want to live in one so bad someday. It's an obsession close to my vintage camper love.
My print was featured in the newsletter! Hurray! :) That's nice on a Monday.

Illustration Fridaaahhh....Contraption

...And what better contraption than the Phonograph!
This is also a print for sale in the shop.

2012 Wall calendar! Woohoo!

I just put a 2012 wall calendar in the shop. This one is the 'Feathers' edition, but I plan on adding a few more in other designs. And eventually I'd like to get my annual smaller calendar in the shop by the end of the month. Go check it out! I'm mighty pleased with it. :)

Illustration Friiiiday....Ferocious.

Today's word is FEROCIOUS.

This is an old, old sketch, but it's what came to my mind. I drew this while I was on the phones working at a call center years ago. I think I filled up three or four sketchbooks while I was working there.

Illustration Friday Post: Boundaries

I've known about this site for ages and always wanted to get into the habit of doing this. This weeks word to illustrate is: Boundaries.

Give me a job, give me security.

Another week of not having a job.... I never thought it would last this long. I get leads now and then but they turn out to be dead ends. It's depressing, needless to say. I've started applying to retail again because I'm out of options at this point. I've also contacted all horse barns in the not too far area to see if they need a hand. Nothing yet.
I really wonder when a damn door is going to finally open for me.
(If you got the Styx reference in my post title, kudos.)

Meanwhile, I started running again. It sucks, but I'm starting to notice subtle changes. Except it's in the high 90's right now...in Ohio, in September. Next week should cool off though and I can get back on schedule.

Finally, there's a new original work in the shop. You can click on the photo to go to the listing. I'm working on a few more since I've got my watercolors out and everything. And for your viewing pleasure, here's some sketchbook junk too.


Adios.

The Outcome

The job I had interviewed for did not get offered to me. At least I had an interview and some hope for a bit. It was just not meant to be, as my mom said. I'm back at square one.

A couple more from the ol' sketchbook.

More Colorful-ness

Just a few more drawings. I'm really liking the elk with the patterns. Might do something like that on a larger scale. That's it for today.

Colorful Sketchy Things

Just some things from the sketchbook. I'm on a colorful kick. Putting my Prismacolor markers to some use. In other news, Cherry just farted while she was sleeping and it's giving me a headache. That's all.

Lengthy post of ramblings...

(Photo Credit: Beth Retro)

So I'm sitting here in the middle of my fifth month of unemployment. I've gotten some promising news and am interviewing this week for a position I want insanely bad. I feel like it was a job description I'd write for myself. Except I would have added horse care...haha. I'm crossing my fingers so hard it hurts. More explanation on it after the interview.

Anyways, so I'm sitting here with my coffee looking over my neglected Etsy shop-I haven't been too into it the past couple months, ah depression-and took a look at my total sales. 758. That's right. Holy crap, I say! It's a funny thing, when someone buys something you put all your love and creativity in. I still feel just as happy when I sell something now as I did that first sale back in 2006. So...Thank you to all my buyers! I've said it before, but I need to say it again.

Without my Etsy sales, I would be up Shit Creek as some say. During my layoff, I've saved every dime from my sales, hoping when I got a job I could use it for some debt or my car payments. However, my dear ol' student loans are due this month because the forbearance is over (thought I'd be employed now) and that's where all that money is headed. That, and some bills also.

I did use some of my Etsy money to buy things for myself as well, how could I not? Like flowers for the yard, clothes (on clearance), books to read, treats for Cherry, some home decor to spruce up the place, etc.

To make a long story a bit longer, thanks again to all those who support the arts, the indie designers, the starving artists, and the local businesses. :)

Here's to hoping I'll be employed for my next post.

-M

Sketches...

My best friend's cats, Maize & Boo (Not pictured: Sushi)

Another friend's adorable Shih Tzu, Henry.

I am a Potter nerd.

Bought a brand spankin' new sketchbook this week and had to break it in right away. Nothin' new for the shop, just drawing for the sake of drawing.

Things and more things...and stuff.

Just a random update of stuff I've done...

Bike Poster for Wild Goose Creative's bike show...it's also for sale through them here.






Mother's day present for my mom...a portrait of the adorable little house her and my dad lived in after I was born.




And some horsey sketches....






Also did a new illustration for ChallengePost's front page....

And that's all for now, folks.