Happy Wednesday fellow readers! Some of you may have already heard of the reality TV show, “Work Of Art”. Its put on by Bravo, Sarah Jessica Parker and her production company, Pretty Matches, and its a show about real artists competing against each-other for $100,000 and a show at the Brooklyn Museum!! Andy Warhol is in that museum – the creator of “POP” art. Now POP culture, in this case as defined by reality TV shows will be coming to his work…AAAHH!! Its blowing my MIIIND!

Even if it fails, which it definitely will in the artistic community, the fact is art is now in mainstream TV – with commercials – art is getting massive exposure to America. The conversation of what constitutes “good art” and the arguments that always ensure from that will be in the common conversation. I myself am not a fan of reality shows – but it doesn’t matter. Art, whatever the quality, whatever it may be, is among us now. We shall wait and see if the people who watch TV will make this show popular. It the nature of this almost social experiment is what excites me.

How will the art be judged? How will the artists react to said judgment? How conceptual will the conversation be? How will it be edited to the idea that American’s like person to person drama and how important will the whining and arguing be made in regards to the art?
Ok, no more talk. Videos are below. Can’t see them? Here’s a link!

A happy end of Monday to you all! Remember the “Name It And Win It” contest 2 months back? Well, I finally finished the painting of the Puff-Tailed Whiffersnap thats going to be mailed to Eirewolf as soon as I can get a pro-quality scan made this week.
To see the process of how it got painted, click here.

But because I also like the 2 other names given so much, both Marie and Joe will be getting an original “pre-painting” study and sketch of this piece. I’ll be mailing it shortly guys!! Thanks for your patience. Next name it and win it contest to be announced at some undetermined time.

For all my patient readers, I am sorry for my absence on the blog-o-sphere these past two weeks. I would like to inform you that I have a happy reason for this. I have FINISHED the inkings, scanning, cleaning up, and laying out of my coloring book. I am almost done with writing a little blurb about each fantasy beast and their baby and I will be sending out my dummy (a little printed example of “look it how it will look, all COOL and stuff”) to Dover Publishing in the next week. If Dover doesn’t like it, I have another publisher I’m going to approach, and if THEY don’t like it, I’m self publishing.

FREE STUFF!

Those who are on my mailing list will get three, large, final, un-watermarked images from my “Fantasy Beast Babies Coloring Book” I have chosen for downloading and printing.  If you would like to be involved in this free artistic give-away, sign-up on my mailing list by clicking here.

Have a lovely Tuesday, and I will be posting some sketches soon…starting my next coloring book due to popular demand: MERMAIDS!!

Love is the cure,
for your pain will keep giving birth to more pain
until your eyes constantly exhale love
as effortlessly as your body yields its scent.

-Rumi

A raindrop melody maker! Thank you, Ashley, for the link. Its soothing and fun, a combination that rarely exists within my excitable self.
I invite you all to try it out!

Click on the link below:
http://www.lullatone.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/raindrop.swf

PIXELS by PATRICK JEAN.

New York invasion by 8-bits creatures !
PIXELS is Patrick Jean’ latest short film, shot on location in New York.

Written, directed by : Patrick Jean
Director of Photograhy : Matias Boucard
SFX by Patrick Jean and guests
Produced by One More Production

www.onemoreprod.com

Table Awesome is the combined powers of three (3) irrefutable, undeniable, awesome individuals who by day are Designers, Flower Geniuses, Illustrators, Filmmakers, and by night probably the same thing just slower and slightly more boozed up versions of their better selves trying to stay in touch with each other by utilizing the beauty that is the internet.

“And it’s my opinion, and that’s only my opinion, you are a lunatic. Just because there are a few hundred other people sharing your lunacy with you does not make you any saner. Doomed, eh?”

- Oleg Kiselev

FINALLY I was able to scan my sketches from last week. Just so you know, I worked till 11:30 pm tonight, and STILL had the willpower to scan and post tonight – I hope this dramatic discourse makes up for my blog-absence…probably not but it was worth a try.

Anyway – last week was rough. I was working a lot, drawing very little, I’m behind on “Panda’s Perfect Pocket”, and I still need to spend more time bettering my skillset during off hours for work to stay current. I was frustrated. Here are a series of drawings from my last week of pissed-off-ness.

I must admit, these were REALLY fun to draw – I love drawing monsters, and I’ve been focusing so much on my kid’s books that I haven’t given them much time. I plan on drawing more beasties soon!

Hello and Happy Monday, my fellow survivors. I would like to share with you the newest project I completed at my day-job for Film Ratings (CARA).

http://www.filmratings.com/

Take a look around, I hope you enjoy.

If all goes well, I’m scanning my drawings tonight to post for SHARE-ings!

Oh dear. I have not posted a drawing in a while. I have some sketches I would like to share as soon as I get around to the scanner, which by the way is working now! Well….it was last week. That thing keeps threatening to give up the ghost. So, for a Wednesday morning thought, I give you a beautiful work of art on FFFFOUND:

Music and painting go together like hugs and smiles. As some reader’s may know, Marcy is the reason why I have a maturing music collection. I have never been happier with my weekend painting mixes. She has decided to start a blog, about MUSIC!

So, enjoy her brilliance. I know I do:

http://365music.wordpress.com/

AND THE WINNER IS….

For those that missed it, the winner of the “Name It And Win It Contest #01″ is Eirewolf, who named the creature a “Puff-Tailed Whiffersnap“!

I think this is clearly a Puff-Tailed Whiffersnap — because you only get a whiff of its knock-you-out scent glands before it truly knocks you out with its cleverly disguised whip of a tail. Only if you threaten it, of course.

This means that Eirewolf with get a free, original painting of this little critter! However, since I really enjoyed the “Mokiho” from Marie:

It’s a Mokiho, “mo” for mouse because of the small little ears and puffy face, “ki” for squirrel because of the fuzzy tail (“qui” didn’t sound good) and “ho” for horse because of the overall look of a pony. ^-^

And the adorable name “Squiralinda” from Joe:

Squiralinda! She’s a jaunty, styling pretty not-quite-a-squirrel.

Both Joe and Marie will get an original sketch of this little critter as thanks for participating and posting such great entries! Happy MONDAY!

A thursday thought for the day. This blog post stood out to me because of the honesty that seemed to permeate through the words and the uplifting vibe it left me with.   It deals with a common but possibly debilitating condition: depression. When you have a moment, I recommend you read it. If you know someone who suffers from depression, or if you do, there are many others too. There is always help, you aren’t alone. You matter.

Here is an exerpt:

<To read the full article click here>

I feel like I’ve crawled out of a very dark and deep hole, clawing the earth with bruised and broken fingers on my laborious ascent. To say that I found motherhood an adjustment would be the grossest of understatements—the ground opened up below me and swallowed me whole as I fell, Alice/Persephone/Innana-like, skirts ballooning, into the worst hell I’ve ever known. No one tells you how difficult taking care of an infant is, how the intolerable sleep deprivation and the endless divination of the needs of an inconsolable creature who cannot tell you what it wants will tax every last reserve of strength, dragging you to the brink of sanity before smashing you on the rocks of utter madness.

I’ve written about my history with depression before. When I became pregnant last year, my doctor weaned me off the antidepressants that had been so pivotal in my functioning as a normal, productive human being. So when the full fury of post-partum depression slammed into me just days after I first cradled my newborn daughter, I was completely armorless, like a burn victim without any protective skin…

I hope this makes you smile a bit!

Goodness. I am so tired. Anyone else had a week where they could use a cute fawn to fly up and snuggle with? I bet this Divine Cervine smells like cookies. The only reason I won’t eat it is because its too cute to waste.

This is an official thank you to Marcy, a friend who single handedly inspired me to clean my entire iTunes music library of music I don’t like anymore by introducing me to music that I can’t stop listening to. To name a few I had never heard of before her mystic influence: Costanza (OMG COSTANZA! Where have you BEEN?!), Late Night Alumni, Jill Barber, Dragonette, Metric, Monsters Of Folk, The Raveonettes, The Big Pink, oh my Goodness..the Big Pink. FIND THEM! LISTEN TO THEM…and many more. She then helped me organize it by sending this video my way, and flaunting her beautifully managed collection. Marcy: Thank you. I will now have fresh musicians to paint and draw to for many moons.

{Help, Krisztianna! I can’t see the above video you posted! No problem, click here!}

Happy Monday. We all need a hug today.

Happy Sunday folks! This is the first ever “Name It And Win It” competition game. I draw a random creature, and you give the creature a name and a little reason why. I don’t mean like “Joey” or “Mike”, tho these be fine, strapping names. I mean What IS it? It is a Wolfertupper, a Tippernapper, a Fuzzywuzzer…what the heck is this thing I drew, because I have no idea. And then I need you to tell me why its named that – a little fact about the creature. For example, I might name this thing a Ponitty, because it seems to be part pony and part kitty, or…I might name it a Dandypanders, cause it eats dandelions. See where I’m going with this?
Leave your idea in the comments in this post (either actual blog or facebook will do) by next Monday the 15th. The winning name and reason/creature fact will get a free, original, finished painting of this little guy.

As far as an update: I am still inking those coloring book panels, and I am 2 MONTHS BEHIND ON “Panda’s Perfect Pocket”! FOR SHAME!!

Check out the original Alice in Wonderland movie recently restored by the British Film Institute National Archive.
Pretty amazing for 1903 — only 8 years after movies were invented!

For those on facebook who might not see the embedded player below, click here to watch

I went to an amazing Venue for the first time called Dr. Sketchy’s! It was recommended to me by friend and fellow artist Pablo Ramos. You pay $12-$15 and for 3-4 hours you get to draw live models.  Although Pablo could not make it my amazingly talented friend and artist Tim Beard came with me. It was magic. The lighting was terrible, but the models, vibe, and Bob the host were all fantastic. I plan to make it a regular thing now.

Here are the photos of some of the stuff I managed to create that night! It was either India ink wash followed by a chalk pastel crazed, finger cramping stumbling, or charcoal pencil.

I just wanted to give you wonderful peeps an update on my progress, since I haven’t posted a new sketch for almost a week. I have been inking the pages for the coloring book! Yes, I’m on stage 2 of 4. Stage 3 is scanning it, putting it all together, writing the copy. Stage 4 is SENDING it away and seeing if anything comes of it. Go stage 2! Go stage 2!

I will not be posting the final inkings. However, those lucky peeps on my mailing list will be getting a special treat to download if they wish. So, if you are reading this on facebook or this blog, and have not signed up for my mailing list and want art that I don’t post for free anywhere else, sign up! I promise the mailing is few and far between.

Take care you all on this fine Wednesday. Until the next post, adieu!

Because I enjoyed the last scribble with permanent marker so much, and because work was tiresome again today, i thought I’d enjoy another random, unplanned marker seizure. Again…interesting. I have no idea what shes holding, but I think I might steal it for another story…