From around the studio

 

These are just some random photos and items from around my studio.  Some I've shared in various places already so you may have already seen them, but thought I would round them up and share them here as well.

Inspiration vs. Productivity

   I don't do a lot of written posts these days, just because I don't have time and most people would probably rather not read what I have to say (I am VERY boring and can be incredibly long winded, as you'll no doubt read below).  However, a written post every now and then can be a good thing...  Right?

   This one is about something I seem to struggle with constantly in various ways.  My inspiration (what inspires / motivates me) vs. my productivity (what I actually create/how I share what I create).  

   I really really struggle with this a lot.  I see ideas, various types of ideas, everywhere, especially online.  If you browse the internet even a little, you probably see them as well.  People all over are expressing themselves in their own unique way and I seem to love quite a lot of those expressions.  (Almost all of them usually.  You don't even want to know how long my bookmark link list is.)  

Whether it's some cute, frilly, pastel colored girly decor.

Scathingly Brilliant

  Or the messy, random, painted, mixed media art that probably makes little sense to anyone who isn't an artist. 

Robin Marie Smith

  Each one speaks to me in a different way, inspiring me to want to pull out my art supplies and just start making something immediately.  Which is hard when you don't always have time to sit down and create something.  But staying inspired keeps my love for art growing and I really need that inspiration and motivation to keep me desperate to try new things and explore new ideas. 

    I imagine quite a few people out there are like me and have fallen into the world of Pinterest.  I absolutely love the idea and abilities of Pinterest; being able to share art, decor, recipes, whatever it is you want across multiple places to people who may have never found it otherwise is simply amazing.   It keeps me inspired and allows me to keep things organized by categories I choose which is extremely handy.  It also has let me see what sorts of things inspire me the most, such as color.  My color dedicated pinterest board is full of it. 

  As well as some of my other boards...

  But sometimes Pinterest can be a bit overwhelming.  There's just so much to look at.  I've wasted hours upon hours browsing it's pages without anything to show for it in the end.  But it makes me happy which is good.  I've yet to figure out how to balance it perfectly without being overwhelmed.  So far simply browsing it quickly and forcing myself to stop and then not browsing again for a day or so has been working, but it takes diligence.  Having very poor internet seems to help though.  And another issue with Pinterest is that you're seeing so many voices and expressions at once.  How are you able to share and find your own voice and style when you're being bombarded with so many others? 

  Sadly, I don't have the answer.  My productivity comes in various shapes, sizes, and mediums and I share the best parts with you as they come and go, regardless of how they all fit together.  It drives me crazy that I have such a mismatched style, but perhaps that IS my style?  I've dubbed myself a gypsy artist for years and it seems to suit me perfectly.  Maybe with time I'll learn to figure out how to be more harmonious in my style.  Or perhaps find a way to make my 'everything goes' style work to my advantage.  In the meantime, let me share some of my favorite artists with you, whether you're having the same issues I am or just need some fresh new inspiration in general.  These talented ladies all seem to have figured out how to pull off sharing multiple mediums, colors and items in a perfectly harmonious way. 




  One of my favorite and most inspirational artists to keep up with is Alisa Burke.  Her blog is so full of ideas and creativity that I find myself checking it several times a day just to see what awesome new idea or art work she has to share.  She's done a brilliant job of combining her personal world with her artistic world and sharing it all together.  Not only that but she offers amazing and insightful advice and tips as well as tutorials and online classes.  Her journey as an artist has been awesome and I highly recommend it for anyone on the creative path in life, regardless of what it is you create. 

    Another favorite artist of mine who shares a variety of items in a combination of various mediums is Lori Vliegen, a.k.a Elvie Stiudio.  She mostly works with ink pens /microns, etc. and watercolor but she will often mix it up and create something a bit off the wall that fits her style and offers some great inspiration.  I've especially enjoyed her Documented Life Project pages. 

  Speaking of Documented Life, those ladies pages are great places to find inspiration and tutorials.  If you haven't checked out their official page, you should.  The group consists of five ladies that started the project.  The idea is to recreate a moleskin journal and incorporate an extra page each week to document your life.  Right now the idea requires a little too much commitment and time from me to try it, but I love seeing everyone's pages and watching their processes.  It's a great way to stay creative every day.  (On a side note, I'm hoping to share my own take on a daily art project soon so stay tuned to check out my own sort of variation for this idea!) 

  Right now these are the absolute first pages I tend to visit when looking for inspiration, particularly when it comes to mixed media.  My digital inspiration varies, but these are always first regardless of what I'm in the mood to create.  I'll try to share a better categorized list of other inspirational artists in the future.  I have so many, it's really hard to put them all into one post.   In the meantime, you can find a small few of my favorite places here.   As the page says, it's still under construction but there's a few in there to hopefully give you some good inspiration.  :) 

  If you've made it this far in my post, thank you!  Like I said above, I can be very boring and long winded.  I feel like I'm a bit all over the place, so if anything doesn't make sense, please let me know.   

It's so much fun being messy.

 Painting creates such a beautiful mess.  <3 br="">

I found the supplies below in my overflowing stash of art supplies and decided I needed to do something with all of it.  Really pleased with how they turned out.  

Busy Busy BUSY :S

Sorry I've been MIA for the past few weeks.  Work and life in general
     has just been crazy lately.  And it doesn't look like that will be about
     to change anytime soon, especially since we made the kickstarter
     goal for the third, Jack the Kitten is Very Sleepy book.  So much
     to do!  Anyhoo, I thought I'd stop in here for a bit and share some
     older things with you guys, since I haven't created anything much
     in weeks.

I turned on my computer and these just...sort of....happened...

A new Kickstarter and some other stuff

 

 Another kickstarter! The Sherlock / Otterlock kickstarter didn't fund the first round, so we're hopefully going to get to revamp it a little with some tweaks and try it again later with some different goals and hopefully great rewards. I'll post about it again once it's back up so feel free to keep checking in here to see when it will be available again. In the meantime, here's the latest kickstarter we're working on. 'Jack the Kitten is Very Sleepy'!  This is actually the third children's book in the series. The first two, 'Jack the Kitten is Very Brave' and ' Machu the Cat is Very Hungry' are the first two. You can find them both on Amazon. This one has actually been a long while in the works. My schedule and some serious life events have forced me to keep pushing it back to finish it, but it's finally close to being completed and we're launching this kickstarter to help us get all the way there! Feel free to check it out and see some of the cute pages inside.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/supcomtabz/jack-the-kitten-is-very-sleepy-childrens-book-with

I've really been swamped with life and other projects, but I did doodle these up.  I'm really pleased with how they turned out. I really like experimenting with this style and pushing it further and further.

Otterlock / The Game is on kickstarter and a silly doodle

There's only a little over a week left for The Game is On Kickstarter!  Be sure to check it out now before it's too late!  And thank you for anyone that has already funded or plans to fund shortly or who has helped spread the word on the project.  You guys rock!  

 

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/770124317/the-game-is-on-sherlock-holmes-based-playing-cards

Additionally, here's a silly doodle of some peas from a week or so ago for your viewing enjoyment.

Latest Kickstarter update - Sherlock Playing Cards

I have another update to share with you guys!  Some changes were made and some new items were added (like the cool necklaces shown on the top right here)!  There are only 16 days left and still a ways to go so please, if you can, check out the page and help spread the word.  If you've backed this project or plan to, then don't forget that you rock! 

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/770124317/the-game-is-on-sherlock-holmes-based-playing-cards

Another Kickstarter Update! - Sherlock playing cards

A little update with some initial silly sketches I did of drunk Sherlock and Watson! LoL! Along with a small little thank you post from me to all of you who have helped back this project. Seriously, I can't say it enough: YOU GUYS ROCK!

Also, Shane Tyree, (an amazing artist whose page you should check out: Shane Tyree Art Studio ) has shared his coin design for one of the stretch goals! If we can reach his card deck stretch goal, you'll get to see even more amazing designs like it from him! So be sure to check it out! 

 https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/770124317/the-game-is-on-sherlock-holmes-based-playing-cards/posts

Mixed Media - Quote

"It's better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring." -Marilyn Monroe.

New project - Sherlock Holmes Playing Cards!

I have some awesome news to share with you guys today! I mentioned a few times I've been working on some projects over the past couple of months. One of them is about to be launched this week and I couldn't be more excited to finally share it with you! It's a Kickstarter project that the lovely Tabitha Grace Smith - Author (who you may remember as the author of the Jack the Kitten is Very Brave children's books I illustrated) has set up to produce a deck of playing cards with some Sherlock Holmes designs on them. However, this set is not your average Sherlock Holmes characters. They're based off the idea that Sherlock is an otter and Watson is a hedgehog! It's a new cute twist on an awesome, classic story that I hope you all will enjoy. If you want to get involved, feel free to follow the links below for more information.

To make it even more awesome, everyone who signs up at Thunderclap will get a free Sherlock logo car decal with their Kickstarter pledge!
https://www.thunderclap.it/en/projects/11778-sherlock-holmes-playing-cards

And everyone who signs up here on Facebook will get one of my drawings as a sticker with their Kickstarter pledge!
https://www.facebook.com/events/302969296528350/?ref_dashboard_filter=upcoming&source=1

So be sure to check it out because the game is on!

I have something a little different to share today. A talented artist I follow on Deviantart is offering a free logo they've designed! I think there are a few requirements to enter to win but they are pretty easy to follow, especially for such an awesome logo. Here's the link if anyone wishes to check it out! (Feel free to check out the rest of their gallery while you're there!)

 http://wheremyspiritrests.deviantart.com/art/Dragon-Logo-Auction-with-No-Money-just-LOVE-451417799

Mixed media sticker sheets

You may remember seeing one of these the other day, but I've since created a few others to go with it. These are actually sticker sheets that I've painted on and doodled up a bit. I'm thinking I may offer these for sale in my etsy shop. I thought it might be cool to see how other people use them in their art and scrapbook pieces.

More mixed media

Life isn't about finding yourself.

Life is about creating yourself.

Photos from my studio

Just some things I've been working on in my studio.