CHAIRities Chair

I finally purchased the chair that I'll be painting for the CHAIRish the arts event. I was looking around second hand stores (i.e. Goodwill etc.) because I wanted to recycle, and then figured I should probably paint a chair that's in good condition. I'd hate for someone to sit in the chair and have it break (and someone get hurt) - kinda paranoid I guess. So I went to the unfinished furniture place in Manchester and bought this chair "BRANDY-NEW" (as my niece would say). The shape of the chair is great and will be fun to paint my characters on. I'll also paint something on canvas and use it to recover the cushion of the chair.

I had about an hour today in the studio, so I got the primer on. I listened to some David Gray to get me into the creative mindset, I was listening to his White Ladder CD and it was all about love (lost and found) and kinda bummed me out so I switched to Space, a really fun band from the late 90's, I especially like their song "Female of the species"

This is from their first (of two) albums called "Spiders", all of the songs are really creative and fun to listen (and sing!) to. It definitely got me into the right mood for painting!

It's amazing what music can do to your mood! I need to remember that! (ha, ha, ha)

Al Frazza, Page17Design

As I've mentioned in earlier posts I've been working with Al Frazza, owner of Page17Design, doing graphics/illustrations for his clients. He recently reinvented his website and I was lucky enough to be a part of the process, helping him with copy writing and as a sounding board for design.

I can't recommend his business enough, anyone in need of a truly unique website that works both visually and technically, he can do it. You can also trust him to do things well, deliver on time and to have your interests and needs in mind though out the whole process. Check his new site out through the link I've provided above (click on "Al Frazza"), he's done some fantastic work. You can also call him to discuss your website needs if you don't know where to begin, that's exactly what I did before he designed my website.

Goodwill And Discount Shopping

Although it is in my genes, this economy is helping with the ol discount shopping. Lately my cousin and I are hitting all of the discount shops. Our favorite place to go is Goodwill. Not only can you find really great stuff, your purchases help a great cause.

We are lucky, we have quite a few Goodwill stores in close proximity to where we live, we also have a few "Goodwill Boutiques" to go to as well. WOW. So this weekend we were out and about and I was looking for a chair for the CHAIRish the Arts fundraiser, I didn't find a chair for that but I totally scored some chairs for our house. $40 a piece, including the ottomans. Unheard of! They do have to be reupholstered, but still what a score. I am learning though, that you need to buy it when you see it, cuz the good stuff doesn't last. I recently lost out on a great $50 table and chair set cuz I wanted to "sleep on it" - they were gone the next day.

Another great place to shop is Ocean State Job Lot, but you have to be careful because some of their stuff is overpriced. BUT this weekend they had slipcovers on sale for $25 versus the $150 you'd have to pay at Target/Walmart etc. So yes, I did go out and splurge on a few slip covers for the house, mainly for the new (free - thanks peter and Terry!) couch we got for our basement last week. Here are a few pictures, including a shot of some $1.00 baskets I bought to decorate our wall in the basement. And by the way, the slipcover has been jump tested by my 3 year old, that's why it looks so lumpy.

Focus

Been very busy and have been rethinking my fifi's business plan cuz it's not working! Having attended Surtex last year I find I've been very scattered and unsure of my direction (Surtex can be overwhelming from an artists perspective). I've been drawing, painting, doing graphic design etc, but have not felt that I'm making any progress.

Through The Art Of Licensing group (on Yahoo) I connected with Suzanne Cruise an artists agent and owner of Suzanne Cruise Creative Services (cruisecreative.com), she was so generous with her time, and gave me fabulous advice. FOCUS! Find the one thing you love to do and work to be the best at it. Simple huh?!

So I'm going to focus on my illustrations - the pumpkins, veggies, bees and crazy characters will be back in action. I also decided that I was going to focus my energies locally first, gain some traction here, before attacking something like Surtex again. I'll be attending the Glastonbury Applefest this year and will also participate in CHAIRish The Arts tour and auction. It's all good.

I'm also thinking of drawing weeky coloring pages, that will keep me moving. Here's one of my first. Stay tuned for more!