Just a note for those following me on Twitter:  I have set up a separate twitter account dedicated to Quirky Dame Designs at http://www.twitter.com/quirkydd.  Feel free to follow it if you'd like to keep up to date on my shops that way.  Also, if you are following me on my personal twitter account (quirkydame), I will still be posting there, just keeping it mainly personal with some art thrown in.  :)

After two weeks or so of not painting, I’ve been quite productive!


At first I just grabbed a canvas board – not my usual choice of support – and just messed around a bit, playing with colors and an idea. It was going to be a simple, quick painting for a weathered art swap I’m participating in. That’s where you create a piece of art and hang it outside for a week, then send it to your partner. Well, it started to turn into something that I couldn’t quite bring myself to hang outside. So I kept at it and ended up listing it in my Art Fire shop. I think it was inspired by the gorgeous weather we had on Mother’s Day. I like how bright and cheery it is and I’m still stunned at how straight that freehand wording is. LOL!

Then a few days later, I was at work checking out some pictures of cats and I stumbled across one that instantly reached out and screamed DRAW ME! It was a simple side view of a cat sitting. So I drew just a outline of the cat and it was one of those moments where everything just flowed. The lines formed themselves with almost no correction needed from me. I then made copies of the sketch, so I could doodle around and figure out what to do with this drawing and not ruin the original in the process.

First I filled in the cat silhouette with curvy lines and liked how that turned out.



Then I did a polka dot one, which was fun.



Next was a somewhat boring diagonal line one, but I figured I would create a wild background to add some spice.



Then my brain started brewing and an idea just hit me. Thank God everyone was in a meeting so I could get it down on paper! This was the result:



I loved the concept, but the flowers themselves had to change. So I did a minor edit and was much happier. I then impatiently waited for the last hour of work to end so I could rush home and paint her! And again, it was one of those times when I sat down to paint and it just flowed. No major traumas, no moments when I hated it or wanted to just give up on it. It was an awesome feeling. I tweeted the image that night while I was working on it and a co-worker saw it and just loved it. I brought it in the next day to show it off, even though I still had about 30 minutes left of work to do on it. That same co-worker saw it and bought it on the spot. LOL! Here’s a picture of the finished product.



It looks even better in person! I plan on doing a couple more like this, but in different colors. So much fun and I loved the results.

Then last night, I finally got my new photo editing software! When my other computer died a few months back, I lost the software that was on it. I’ve been using picnic.com. It’s helpful but you can only do so much. So I finally scored an earlier version of Paint Shop Pro for cheap. I’ve been dying to redo my shop banner and avatar for quite some time, so I sat down last night and after three or four hours and probably 20 different versions, I came up with the new avatar and banner!

Here they are:





I was quite happy with the results. They look so much better than the last one I did and this one actually feels “quirky” unlike the old one. It was also a good way to reacquaint myself with Paint Shop Pro, as it’s been a few years since I last used it.

Oh, and one more thing before I end this post. The agency I work for used to be an orphanage many years ago. Back when Alaska achieved statehood, they held a contest for all the schoolchildren in the state to come up with a design for the Alaska Flag. The winner, a boy by the name of Benny Benson, was residing in that orphanage at the time. Every year the agency holds a picnic in honor of the flag on Alaska Flag Day, July 9th. It is a city-wide picnic with food, games, live music and lots of fun. Every year, they also hold a contest for the students and the staff to come up with a design for that year’s t-shirt. Then at our monthly meeting, the staff votes on all the designs and a winner is chosen. I entered a design this year and I’m so happy to announce that I won! Here’s Benny the Moose:



His smiling mug will be featured on the t-shirts and hoodies available for the public to buy at the event. He’s also on much of the promotional material and the tickets. I can hardly wait to see him on the clothing. What a thrill!

I hope you all are having a wonderful day that is followed by a spectacular weekend!

I had another Art Fire seller, White Dandelion Works, contact me, this time about making plushies based on my owls.  I can safely say that I am not talented when it comes to sewing and that's an understatement.  So it's something that I didn't have planned, but the idea intrigued me.  (I love fun little plushies and wish I did have that talent to make them!)  I gave her the go ahead to create one for a toy drop and loved the results!  She's made two more for her Art Fire shop and I wanted to share them with you.  They're wonderful and I'm hoping to have her make a custom one for me.  :) 

Here's the first one:

 

A few weeks ago, I was contacted by an ArtFire seller - Harlamy - who was interested in making a couple of polymer clay owls in the same style as the owls in my paintings. It was certainly not something that I had planned on doing (my talent lies with paintbrushes, not clay!) so I said, "Sure!" She has listed the first owl and I was so charmed that I requested she make one for me. :) I wanted to share her darling creation with all of you!  Here's a picture of it: