stuff about artstuff.

En Plein Air

So.

First I guess I have to start this one with a disclaimer: for those of you who don't already know this, I am not someone who is particularly good at painting directly from life, nor do I enjoy schlepping my supplies around, setting stuff up or taking stuff down. Oh boy, carrying things? Don't get me started on that. This is the girl who practiced constantly, striving to keep first or second chair all through her school-band years mainly because a piccolo case can (sort of) fit inside a Pee-Chee, not like those bulky old flute cases...why they're a ridiculously-giant 16" long and weigh, what, 2 pounds? Who wants to carry something like that to and from school every single day?
But I digress (and I haven't even started yet).
I just don't want anyone who accidentally stumbles upon this blog someday after Googling real Plein Air Art to think that I actually fancy myself the kind of artist who can do this and leave a yelling-at-me comment (really...please don't yell at me). The rest of you realize by now that I don't take myself (or anything else) that seriously and are probably wishing I'd stop rambling and get to my point. A-hah, you forgot...I never really have a point, and that this blog is all about the rambling.

All I really want to share with you is my favorite kind of workday. The kind when all the right details fall into place...I have to be at a certain point in a project (or projects) where the art is in a portable state, I have to be able to step away from the computer and phone for at least a few hours...meaning the businessy admin side of things needs to be wrapped-up, clients need to be taken care of for the day, and most important, this can only happen within a couple-month window because the outdoor conditions need to be just so (i.e. atypical Seattle weather).

Those things rarely all happen on the same day, but on those rare occasions when they do, it is time for Plein Air Illustrating.
My office-mates are the best company I could ask for although sometimes they sit on my feet.
Foot-sitting in the workplace is a faux-pas in most offices and for good reason, but here it's okay. Actually, having your bare foot sandwiched between cool summer grass and warm soft fur...that's what we call "snice".

I can, of course, hear the sounds of the city-neighborhood around me...but this time of year the constant background-music is birdsong (okay admittedly some of that is crowsong which most of you might not consider anything like songbird-birdsong, but I love it anyway) and during brief quiet moments all I hear is the breeze in the leaves above my head
and the funny little creaking of my adorably rusty windmill.
Birds hop around nearby because they know they are safe (beyond leash-length, that is).
Hummingbirds, butterflies, and bees go about their busy days around us...they don't seem to mind that we're sharing their office space for the day.

This is what it's all about. This is my very favorite kind of workday, ever. I mean, how could it not be? Really, it's only technically work because there are clients and deadlines involved...but really this part is just recess. Not a bad way to celebrate Take Your Dog to Work Day. Okay, every day around here is that...but still.

And for those of you purists out there who still have your knickers in a twist about me, a commercial illustrator of all things, throwing around certain fine-art terminology...I'll pan out a bit from that very first scene I shared.

What is that I'm drawing there? Is that a white cat? White cat on the table, white cat in the drawing?

Hmh.

Maybe I do paint and draw directly from life, it just sifts through a few extra filters before it hits the page...

It's All About the Dads.

Burning the midnight oil again.
Ok, so that's a dumb thing to say, as there's no actual oil-burning going on (who could afford that anyway?) just lots of late-night working, trying to get caught up with everybody and everything. I think I'm just about there though (caught up that is, hooray) so I wanted to take a moment and share a couple things with you.

Hopefully you have more than a card planned for the special dads in your life but if in all the hullabaloo you have yet to pick up just the right card, I do have a few suggestions. A couple of my licensing partners have designed some really nice Fathers Day cards with my artwork, I couldn't be happier with the way these turned out.
If the dad-in-your-life is one of those guys who loves nothing more than to aimlessly wander the aisles of his local mom-and-pop hardware store or home-improvement warehouse superstore (you know exactly who I'm talking about don't you?) then this card by Madison Park Greetings is sure to be a hit with him...to find a local retailer click here.
I just can't say enough about their beautiful product!

And Hallmark has added 4 lovely little cards to their Connections series, for your own dad, grandpa, or another father in your life. I love the extra detail they've added to these...the 3-dimensional layer and the jute-twine really do make these cards something special. I'm guessing you don't need me to help you find your closest Hallmark store, but just in case, you can locate one here.

Have a great weekend, and go on, give your dad a big hard bear hug and tell him how much you love him...whether you think he wants it or not. Go on, do it.

Things I Left Behind.

Alright...it seems as if it's taking me forever to finish all my follow-up and new work from the recent Surtex show. It's sort of like I'm not really back from New York yet, even though I have physically been back for almost 2 weeks. Normal-life, including friends, family, home, and regular-old-fun-stuff has taken a backseat as I scramble to make the best possible first impressions with new contacts and do whatever it takes to please my current clients I met with while I'm still fresh on their minds. Weeks are already slipping by so fast I see them only as a blur.

It really is an exciting time of year for my business, hopeful and fresh...and for some reason I never seem prepared for how overwhelming the schedule will be. I think maybe that's because in those crazy-busy months leading up to the show, when I'm so deeply entrenched in preparation, the most-uttered phrase is "I'll have time for that after the show". As if life will magically become simple the second I land in Seattle. The kind of simple I haven't known since I was a little kid. Why, I'll get up every morning and eat pancakes, sit in my room and draw whatever I feel like, maybe even ride my bike to my friend's house and play until dark. Mom will call me inside when it's time to eat dinner. Yes, that's how it will be, after the show.

OK. So it's not like that.

I am still crazy-busy. I haven't had a chance yet to see people I care about. Wander through blogs. Reconnect with friends. Read. Really, really clean the house. Although when I first returned I did spend some quality time weeding (crazy giant Seussian weeds with roots that went all the way to Australia) and murdering thousands of slugs and snails (ok, I don't really murder all of them, many are beneficiaries of my own special relocation program...I cannot disclose their current locations or I may jeopardize the entire program, I'm sure you understand the delicacy of this situation), "normal-life" is still really only a memory, and a hope for the near future.

All that being said...just before I left for New York, suddenly there were several things I really wanted to share with you here. Yeah, there's a list. And I will get to them, really I will...eventually, along with the rest of real-life. But for now, a teeny-tiny sneak-preview... New things growing, new products hitting stores, new residents in the backyard, favorite things, Etsy (yes Etsy, soon), and 18 bolts of flannel (hasn't even been unwrapped yet). And that's just from before I left...I haven't even started with New York stuff yet.

Oh boy we have a lot to talk about.

Soon.