Wordless Wednesday

Found at the Happyologist

Wordless Wednesday

Illustration Friday

Since it's Illustration Friday and also the birthday of the late Edward Gorey, I'll leave you with some of the fun images of the man who paved the way for the contemporary gothic illustrator.  Prolific writer, illustrator, creator of the whimsical and macabre, Edward Gorey... influencer of artists, musicians, poets, film makers, costume designers and beyond.  The illustrator who even won a Tony for costume design himself!  Happy Birthday Edward! You inspire me.

The Doubtful Guest

Alphabet Book

Gorey with his cats

You can visit the Edward Gorey House in Yarmouth Port, Mass. They exhibit throughout the year and you can become a member and even shop online here: Edward Gorey House

Have a nice day,

Rebecca

Illustration Friday

#4; 29 Faces, Nervous Laughter

Fun distractions are these little cartoon art pieces. It's good to doodle and sketch between paintings. Exactly like journaling, only completely different.

Nervous Laughter
Aceo, watercolor and ink
Go to auction

Nervous Nelly was a nervous bot.  

A jumpy bot.

A curious bot.  

She gazed awkwardly, not having reached her own peak, smiling with a nervous, longing, hopeful curiosity at someone special...

wondering if he would notice her...

if only..

I hate those moments.  

So, will he ever notice?  Maybe it'll be one of those things where 25 years later, she runs into him again, only he's a little rusty now. For her, he will exist forever as the shiny young bot with plenty of character and a good heart, only now, he notices her back. That's how I might write the story.

I've been up to all kinds of no good.  Well, some good. I made cookies using brown rice flour.  Edible, for sure. I should say so, I ate the whole batch.  

Gotta go find some salad.

Have a nice evening, 

Rebecca

Nervous LaughterAceo, watercolor and inkGo to auction

There will be up to 100 cartoon robot aceos for this series throughout 2013, available exclusively on eBay, all starting at $1.00.

#4; 29 Faces, Nervous Laughter

She Loves me, she loves me not..#3; 29 faces

"Nervous Nuts and Bolts"
ACEO; watercolor and inkGo To Listing

Well, what the heck is it anyway?  Does she love me or not?
Do I have to leave it up to the number of petals on this daisy?
AUGH!


Here's #3 of 29 faces.  Hope you like it.
This is my first ACEO listing on ebay in almost 3 years!  I've decided to start these sweet little nuggets of fun illustration art at $1.00 for the fun of bidding and collecting!  I hope you enjoy the bargain at any price. ;)

Have a nice night,
Rebecca

She Loves me, she loves me not..#3; 29 faces

#2; 29 faces

Wow, another day, another face.  Would you believe it already?  lol

Cassie in progress
To order your own, visit my Etsy shop

This one isn't quite done, but she's getting close enough I can post her and go memorize my lines for my acting class tomorrow.

While I'm on a roll, I'm on another challenge worth mentioning. No wheat!  (hahahah, on a ROLL! get it? flour?! ok, never mind.)  To top that off, for giggles, I've also "mostly" eliminated the other white starches: sugar, potatoes and rice are relegated to just one day per week.  I'm on Day 6 today and feeling rather fantastic!  Can I get a woot woot?  Eric just handed me a sugar free cocoa with marshmallows. (I didn't say I'm perfect, pretty sure I made that very clear!)


Have a good night,

Rebecca


“How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.” 
― Anne Frank

#2; 29 faces

#1; 29 Faces

Maxmillion

Custom Pet Portrait on an ornament
Order a custom ornament

It's time for repetition!  Go!  Do the same exercise for a month straight to get you into the groove, thereby creating a good habit! In this case, it's double habit forming bonus month!

How so, Rebecca?

Easy. (lqtm). Paint every day. Blog every day. There, 2 habits. But, best of all, you have to show up, every day, and we know showing up is half the battle.

A group of fellow artists are on a kick this month to blog every day in February and post a new face with each post, creating 29 faces to post. I heard it takes 27 takes in a row, over and over and over, before your action becomes a habit.  

So, in my typical non-committal fashion, I'm joining the challenge with only 24 days left to make all 29 faces, so I wont alter my personality too much by forming any good habits.  I'm no stranger to challenges, though.  Remember 31 days of rhinos?  That challenge, which is also educational to the reader, is still only at 23 rhinos. But, I'll pick it back up in March again and finish it this year and have a little show somewhere, sometime.  Another very memorable challenge I did a few years ago was to write a novel in 30 days; 1500 words a day, 50,000 words in a month (for the NaNoWrimo, National Novel Writing Month). I actually completed that epic challenge!  Talk about proud!  However, would you believe that not only could I not write for months afterward, yes, it destroyed my blogging for months, but I even lost interest for a while in checking my email!  hmmm...this exercise might have some medicinal benefits. (curing a habit?)

LOL.

Well, here you, my first face.

Have a good night, 

Rebecca

#1; 29 Faces

They Paid What?! Top 10 Absurd Paintings that Sold for Millions (from ArtSumo.com)

Thankfully, someone else wrote this, so I don't have to take flack for saying it out loud.

Here's the link to today's funny and interesting blog on the big bucks business of selling psychology in art to rich people.

They Paid What?! Top 10 Absurd Paintings that Sold for Millions

posted by Naysawn Naderi | filed under The Art World is Ridiculous |

enjoy. (lqtm)

Have a nice week,
Rebecca

They Paid What?! Top 10 Absurd Paintings that Sold for Millions (from ArtSumo.com)

The Pen-ultimate Declutter List You'll Ever Need

It's Winter and we want to stay inside and bundle up.  We have to be comfortable in our spaces though, and for a lot of us, that may involve letting go of some of our stuff.  Also, tomorrow is Super Bowl Sunday and you might want some other activity.

I found this great declutter list on FlyLady.com.  I recommend you go there if you want to organize your life.  However, if you're like me, you will merely just see the headlines of the friendly tips that arrive in your email and delete them without bothering to read because you also have Martha Stewart, Better Homes and Gardens and some lifestyle guru's daily stuff to get through, and frankly, most of that gets deleted, too.

Anyway, this isn't anything you don't know, but it wont hurt to get the reminder. (Also, I copied and pasted verbatim, so don't correct my grammar. :)

*************************************************************************************************

"Dear Fly Lady,

...these are my declutter stand-bys.

1.  6 Month Rule.  If I haven't needed it, worn it, looked for it, read it or replaced it in 6 months, out it goes.  One exception I make is for the few good outfits I still have, still fit into, but seldom wear.  They are my "just in case" wardrobe.  All my clothes fit in the one closet in my house (yep, just one), one dresser, and my cedar chest (seasonal stuff).

2.  Keep a picture, not the object.  I think that tip came from Jeff Campbell.  Just because Great Great Aunt Griselda knit it from string while crossing the Plains in a wagon, doesn't mean I have to hang onto it.

3.  Forbidden Words and Phrases:  "Maybe I could...." "I might need ..."  "What if .....?"  "But Great Great Aunt .... [see 2 above]" and "I can sell it."  That last one leads to ...

4.  How much is my time worth compared to what I might get for the item?   I tend to put a greater value on my time.  One yard sale was enough.  I check similar items on e-bay and decide if the time involved is worth the sold price.  Donation with a tax deduction is my favorite.  Quick and easy.

5.  Craft items.  Keep repeating "I have enough for two lifetimes."

6.  No regrets.  Once something is gone, it's gone [see 2, again].

FlyBaby P"

*************************************************************************************************

Ok, back to me!  

So I thought I would add my own friendly helpful hint while I'm passing along the sage advice of others.

It's the "Last Declutter To Do List You Will Ever Need" just in case you are getting no where with the one above.

The very last list has only one item on it and can't be reversed, so make sure you've gone through all the others first.  Two good reasons to follow this last list first:  You are on your death bed and hate all the sniveling greedy people who are going to inherit your stuff OR it's your husband's stuff and he has just left you for a younger thinner dumber version of you. 

1)  Burn it all.

Have a nice weekend, 

Rebecca

The Pen-ultimate Declutter List You'll Ever Need

Bombings, Obituaries and Shootings Oh My! (not really)

Ok, I admit that title is a bit of a lost leader.  I don't like bad news.  It's worth mentioning that all of New York is probably morning the loss of Ed Koch today.  But, embassy bombings and school shootings and guerrilla warfare and the middle east and Africa gearing up to attack us, oh and North Korea too ...yea, it's just not something I can deal with emotionally on a morning that shows so much promise!

I am a happy girl this morning because I have a new dishwasher!  It was installed at 7:00 am and it's so quiet that I have to be next to it to hear it running. This sound alone (or lack of sound) was reason enough to get up that early for the installation. That is poetry in motion. ahhh...Serenity now!

Ok, get to the special interest section, babe!  Winter is upon us, but fear not, there's lots to do out there as galleries, theaters and music venues are hopping with activity to keep us from hiding in our cocoons until March.  What to do if you live in Marietta?  Hey! It's First Friday art walk!

Tonight's neighborhood to visit: Marietta Square!

2 Rules Fine Art Gallery in Marietta Square should be on your list.  (They have been very gracious friends to me this past year and included me twice for exhibitions in 2012 and this past month as well!)

Their opening show tonight, featuring the very fancy chain maille jewelry work of artist Helen Rule is really worth the stop.  Helen puts in the time, let me tell you I've seen her in action!  She makes each jump ring from wire and then one tiny link at a time meticulously forms the chain maille which provides the foundation for her gorgeous jewelry. Many hundreds of hours have been lovingly spent creating this collection.  It's really a sight to behold the meticulous fine crafting of this very talented artist. 2rulesfineart





The spotlight artist at 2 Rules is Pedro Gonzalez, a mixed media artist and print maker who enjoys using typography, shapes and symbols in his work. His works are on various substrates, including handmade papers.  His striking abstractions with fun bold and beautiful complementary color schemes sure to please.

It's going to be a fun show that runs the month of February, so you can come out tonight for the opening reception and still have plenty time to come back and choose a nice piece for your Valentine!

Show runs through Feb. 23rd.
2RulesFineArt

Next stop is DK Gallery.

The show this month features Poetic Abstractions by Jennifer Rivera and The Atlanta Poetry Community.

Then on Sunday, February 3rd, 3:00-5:00pm, DK will also have a live poetry reading in the gallery.  Come for lunch and shopping and stay the whole afternoon!

Also on display are the nude and figural work by Cameron Hampton, Kris Meadows and Catie Radney.

Lot of reasons to pop in for a peek! dkgallery.us

One more stop: Jenny King Studio & Gallery

It's always fun to walk up the stairs and view the working studios of Jenny King and acquaintances.  The gallery is located upstairs on the square above the Australian Bakery and you will see and open door leading to her studio.  The stairs, which are covered with fantastic available small works by the resident artists lead you to the gallery space upstairs where you will find the artists and an assortment of larger works and a custom portrait gallery as well!  48 South Park Square.

The neighborhood has numerous cuisine choices for dinner, including Thai, Japanese, Chinese, French, American bar food, cajun and even asian fusion tacos!  So, make a night of it.

See you there!

Bombings, Obituaries and Shootings Oh My! (not really)