summer's over print

i made a quick ink drawing a few weeks ago based off of a picture i found on the good ole interweb of some ladies dancing circa 1930.  i've had the means to make linoleum block prints since forever and could never think of something worth carving, but this morning i woke up with an urge to create so i turned the drawing into a print.

about an hour later...


first print!


a card...


two hours later...


two hours of work and i have a handful of cards.  want one? i'm a big sucker for pen-pal-ing and snail mail in general and i'll be happy to send one (blank or full of hello's from me) your way.  just holler.

i think i've found a new hobby.  just gotta save up for that printing press! time to start counting my pennies...



p.s. did i mention i gave in and started a tumblr? it's so much easier for quick posts, so there you will find quick sketches i make and short posts straight from my brain. --> strangefamiliarity.tumblr.com !!!

two little birds

life is finally getting a bit more productive! (i'm not being quite so lazy anymore!) i signed a new lease for moving my business this december, i painted a few new paintings, and i'm drawing more and more.  not to say that i still don't watch a good amount of bad television, but that probably can't be helped.  you just can't win them all.

maybe my etsy shop will finally have things in it to sell. maybe.

for now, a lady and a dude bird. one a tree swallow, the other a bluebird:


tree swallow lady, my favorite of the two:


dude bluebird:


hanging on my wall, keeping the rhino company until they find a new home:

full moon, old etching.

a few months ago (well, many months ago) I took a printmaking class.  I learned how to make an etching on a zinc plate with acid and stuff that required wearing gloves and goggles and safety things. and I think I want to one day buy a printmaking press... if only... next $600 I find lying on the ground I'm getting one!

here's my first etching:



not too shabby, though I suppose I could have cleaned a bit up.  I wish I had more time in class to make more prints, but I did what I could in the weeks I had. etching takes forever! but worth it!

quick

in an attempt to fill in my free hours with more productivity and creativity, I'm trying to do as many tiny quick projects as I can, or whenever I feel like it.

so far so good.

a five minute self-portrait. for myself, the perpetually vain. paint samples are the greatest.
 

a quick drawing/cut-out for a zine trade across the country.  I'm quite excited about trading something I've made for someone else's work.  this should happen more often. any takers?



it's finally fall and I can wear socks and jackets comfortably again! good riddance, summer. until next year.

papercuts

paper and x-acto knives, oh how i love you.  it started with stencilling in middle school, and has more recently evolved to paper cutouts.  here's what I came up with for my sister's bridal gift.

my first large-scale cutout-- a success!
lyrics from a favorite song, and a whole lot of strain on my fingers (my index finger was numb for two weeks after I finished, meep!).









finished, framed, and gifted!

sister's bridal shower

my sister is getting married! yes, the one who used to make peter pan hats out of grocery bags and who bore a remarkable resemblance to mowgli as a child.

being "maid of honor", my duties include easing countless tensions, nodding my head a lot, and generally not knowing what I'm doing.

that aside, I finally sat down and made her bridal shower invitations. watercolor + ink makes for a good combination.



using the trusty computadora, I almost wish I inverted the colors, but whatevs.





p.s. I turned a solid twenty-four {24} on Sunday and today I hit a car.  So far this number sucks.

deer hunting

recently commissioned by a friend to paint a young buck in a scarf for his lady's birthday.



took me awhile to like this one. i fought with myself for awhile about how it looked, but now it's grown on me. best/worst part: the wallpaper.  it was a pain to paint it, but makes the whole thing that much better.

here it is a little more saturated so you can actually see the blue on green.



i should spend my time a little more wisely. less netflix, more this!

tea time with roald

late night coffee shop doodles with distorted familiar faces. ended up not reading my book of short stories and instead drew the cover.

black and white zoo

 more paintings to add to the zoo. or to friends' walls.

a technicolor zebra for katrina:


 a classy panda for matt's office:
 

a quarter century

when boyfriend turns twenty-five, you celebrate the occasion by throwing a party and making all your friends dress up. any excuse to craft, i made boutonnieres out of crepe paper and a giant frame out of foam board to document the evening:

the lion's mane

these days i need more than a little drop of courage.

feel the warmth.

i just spilled some hot lemon ginger tea with honey into my lap, and the sensation felt too similarly to that of peeing oneself.

i feel uncomfortable. time to change my pants.

---

in my attempts to get more productive, or at least feel more productive, i'm starting to paint here and there. sure, only animals in hats, but maybe something will come out of it.

example 1:




a clockwork giraffe. i have it listed on my scant newly-made etsy page: DirtyBeasts. it's listed even though i've already committed it to hanging on my wall. oh well.

house cat (happy new home)

i moved five months ago. i love my new home.

view from below:


curious, but lovable neighborhood cat:



never-ending weeding:



glorious cactus-skunk-coyote-beast-filled canyon:


one happy roommate:


one furry occasional houseguest:


dominoes for days: