not much done this week

I absolutely hate going to the doctors office but I finally had to break down and do it Wednesday of this week. I have had cramps and have been extremely tired since the 6th of this month. I thought it was at first a stomach virus, being that my other family members all had a brush with intestinal bacteria that healed in a few days... no!! the pain and the cramping kept getting worse so I went in and ended up having what the doctor said was a massive bladder infection, thank goodness it wasn't advanced enough to be a kidney infection. Anyway... most of last week and this week I have spent 80% of my time sleeping and the other part cramping like crazy. But the good news is I am feeling a lot better. (I can actually join the world of the living and the online)

But I haven't done anything all week art wise and I'm still a little tired. I will have to think about what to do about the art show next week. I guess we shall see if I still feel up to it all.

new clip art set fairies at mygrafico

I just added this to the shop today. Just click the title to the post to go to the shop. It is also on sale for a limited time at $2.00 off my usual clip art set pricing of $4.95...so get it for only $2.95.

I also priced my just ducky digital stamp set to $2.95 and the weather papers to only $1.95 for the 8 paper mini pack. 8x8 inch mini digital papers to print out or use for projects online.

I'm still working on paintings and drawings for the show.

Just a note

I thought I needed to write something on my blog. This is just a short note to say I am working on several new paintings (for the art show in Fairview... and some not so expected mail-in shows I found online)

I have a few doodles I need to squeeze in some time to scan and digitally color for mygrafico. Oh and I have started to make a new layout plan for the reopening of my website. For those who have been routed from www.valariewade.com , it is almost time for that to end and you will finally have an actual website to visit. (I need to do this and have it finished before I start going to all of these shows I have scheduled. Believe me, nothing can close the door faster on buyers than going to the website url and finding nothing really but the blog or a very slow load rate... <--- I've been known in the past to just leave a site if it takes to log to load. *guilty*

There should be a huge update this fall when I decided I would release all 20 + paintings on my website and show some on the blog.

Digital stamps will be slow because of the time it takes to do these paintings. I will try *TRY* to get some out possibly every 2 weeks...but no guarentees that it will be a bunch at a go. (maybe just a couple every 2 weeks)

To fill in the gaps on my blog, I think I will start showing some fabulous tutorial sites or clips I have found. I really need to go finish a painting I have been working on for almost a week. (the reason why I've been so slow on this one is I have spent most of the week in bed. I've had some strange sinus infection again and while trying to get over this run with it, I decided I needed to take some multi vitamins with a calcium tablet (from carbonate) <------ That one! The calcium tablet (from carbonate) caused an allergic reation. I am never taking that one again. I spent the past two days with a very ichy and sore rash on my face and other random areas. I still have some spots on my face that are taking some time to go away.

So...

With that explained, I'm going to go paint.

Now what?

good grief


So I tried to make a painting video earlier this week without any success. First off I have a webcam built into my laptop. I tried to record with it, but the big problem was I couldn't find an angle that would show what was going on. It wasn't showing what was happening on the canvas at all. A lot of white and shine, but no drawing and the lighter colors of the paint wasn't showing either.

* My side note for the post... I paint on a flat surface, being number one my kitchen table or two on the floor of the front room while either listening to music or letting the Tv talk to itself. I swear it has been a long time since I actually listened or watched a show and was able to comprehend or should I say absorb myself enough in the show to know what is going on. lol My mind wanders off to other places while painting, so I guess there really isn't much reason to have these items going in the first place.

I don't know if I will ever paint on an easel! I have one. My younger brother bought me one for Christmas... I just don't know where I put it because I am a creature of habit and it just felt wrong painting with the canvas up right and tilted.

I might buy an artist table one of these days when I actually take the time to set up an art room or a craft shop. ( <----- for the scroll saws, drimels, carving tools, bits and pieces of random stuff such as beads, wires, glass, cutters, kilns, etc. ) I also have a bad habit of wanting to do other crafting things besides painting) I own three different sewing machines and haven't really used them yet. At one point I was going to make rag dolls with a pattern I would make. Many post ago I actually had a doll made from a very basic pattern I drew out. I think I posted it sometime last year. I had material bought up and everything, but I let that fall into the background with school etc. Something extra to take to shows... I may drag something out and try again later this summer because I do have a couple or shows during the fall schedule coming up. I have my 10 x 10 purchased and in a shed in the backyard. Ah!!! lol I told you my mind tend to wonder off....

Ok, back to the video thing. I have two older webcams. Much much older. I purchased it when any webcam that came out was well over $150 dollars and I was in my first year of college. I tried plug and go, because most programs can be loaded off of the internet and I didn't want to get out the CD to load it. I got an error message stating that the program wasn't compatible with windows vista. Ok.... I got the CD out and put it in the drive. Again... the cd loaded and then it said again wasn't compatible with windows 98, program configured for windows 95. No updates available. So a webcam from 1998 doesn't want to work with a computer bought in 2009. lol so The two cams I have from roughly 1998 and 2001 will not work even though they would be perfect because I could rig up a stand to angle them the way I need. The camera with the laptop doesn't want to angle... and I am not going to duct tape the laptop in a weird angle just to film my painting.

Soooooo if you are actually still reading this. No videos for a while. I still really do love the whole concept of watching others paint. I know I have watched many on you tube and am hooked on finding more because I find it very fascinating.

(cough cough) I'm also a penny pincher in a huge way and somewhat stubborn : ) but I know the easiest way is to just go buy a new webcam. It takes me a while to talk myself into a purchase so I would give it maybe another month before you might see a video. lol

I wonder if making a podcast would work with postings of pictures on the blog to go along. Kind of like the read along books on tap you used to listen to as kids. hmmmm??? something to think about.

Have you seen this before?

ArtistShowRoom

Room made at ArtRoom

I went on a search today for virtual rooms. If you have ever spent time browsing art on eBay I'm sure you have seen these. I always thought it was pretty neat to show your artwork in a virtual room that scales it pretty much to size. This was the first virtual room maker I have tried and I think it work out fairly well. I thought I would post this to share for others who might have wonderder how this was done without having to use photoshop to do it.

It was super easy and the link can be found under the image to the virtual room maker.

Hope this helps.

~ val

a video

Wow! I have no idea how to make a video or what I am doing. I googled to see what programs were out there and found out in my search that duh... lol my computer with windows vista has a video program already on it. So I opened it up and a little bit over an hour I have this. Why so long? Because I had to search for royalty free music to use and after a while I found a site with something that would work. Then I found the terms and conditions for using said music. *that was an experience* But I have seen so many other artist do this and have wanted to try my hand at it for months... so here is it. I really want to try a painting video next. I have a web cam and can record. Hmmm we shall see if I do it or not. Podcast is another thing I think would be fun, but I'm pretty boring so I would have no idea how to fill even a 5 minute show. Now to decide if I want to put this on YouTube or not. *comments on YouTube* yikes!

Acrylic painting for the week...

We shall see how long I can go on making weekly paintings : ) but I really do believe that I need to keep painting them up no matter what the outcome maybe.

Here is the finished version of "Something Orange"



I will be listing this tomorrow night on eBay. I will combine shipping cost for paintings purchased on the site, please just message me that you are waiting to buying another painting before paying so I don't charge you shipping twice.

Wow! I love the mail box

US is increasing shipping charges so don't shoot the messenger on that little note. (It shouldn't affect the cost to much on the paintings I ship anyway. I can always move to shipping with the flat rate envelopes that are $4.95 for whatever you can jam into them. We shall cross that bridge latter I suppose. I just shipped off the eBay auction painting from last week. She is safely on her way to her new home (the fairy painting that is : )

And while I was at the post office I had a pink slip (at our post office that means you have a package that is to large to fit in the mailbox.....

OH OH OH!!!! Guess what came in the mail?

These and they are fabulous : )

My deep etched, red rubber, cushion backed rubber stamp sheet 4 x 6 inch set Flutter Fairies #1. They are all prettied up in their retail packaging (extra cost, but so worth it if I decide to sell them wholesale)

I only have 10! When I order my next stamp sheet to be made, I will order more. But here and ready to ship off is 10.

The above photo kinda shows what's on my working table at the moment. The new stamps, which art 4 x 6 inches for the sheet of rubber and the paintings behind them are the current eBay auction mermaid and the mermaid I will finish painting either tonight or sometime tomorrow. ( 9x12 inches )

Last photo shows the current eBay auction painting on my work table. The outline around the painting is the acid free art bag that they all ship in. She is just waiting to see what her fate is. Right now it's looking like she will be shoved in the art drawer and saved for the Fairview show.... but there's still a little time left.

new work for the week

The first image is a scan I just made of a painting that I just finished laying out and will put acrylic paints on later tonight. I do my best painting at night when I have no other distractions going on. (Usually I'm watching my 4 year old nephew most of the week... so when he is in bed, I paint.)


and I am on a mermaid kick for the time... plus it is easier to fit the mermaid in on the 9x12 inch canvas : )




Second scan is the side profile of my hand covered in lead from drawing on the canvas... it smudges a lot!

progression from last night:

I work in several layers and with blending.

Another acrylic painting

I keep getting pulled back into the fantasy art realm because these are so much fun to do. This one was started and finished late last night... roughly around 3 am. : )

I'm a night owl.

"bubbles and green"

Now listed on eBay



Auction

Mygrafico summer clip art set

*shhheesh* I had to really work to get this one out on time for the bi-weekly set submission I have going on.

Now I am going to take a little break tonight and then start on a couple of new paintings for ebay auctions. I want to have one up immediately if not a little bit before the current auction ends.

Newest acrylic painting on ebay

9 x 12 inches on canvas sheet. I went out an bought another pad. The canvas sheets are thick fredrix canvas, just needs to be matted and framed after arrival. This will cut down on the cost of shipping and I can then reopening shipping world wide!

Title: "Sleeping Garden"
Date: May 2nd, 2009
Medium: Acrylics and colored pencils on canvas

Click Here for the Auction! Now on eBay