Bits of my Life

It was a pretty good week, despite trying to get over being disappointed by people. Shea is back from CA and things with us are shiny, so that helps. 

Art, art, art! Finished my photo project studying fabric landscapes, worked with pastels for the first time, and dyed watercolor paper with coffee for my next painting project. Oh, and we also got our first dusting of snow! Which means I don't have to feel so ridiculous anymore for putting snowflake bed sheets on the bed. 

My Cat Hates Me

Charcoal Self Portrait

From picture to product. It's a GIF, wait for it to load.

Some Photos of my Life

Okay, I'm definately not going to be able to stick to weekly photos. So here are some photos from my life in the last unspecified period of time:

A lot has happened in the past few weeks. I performed in an a cappella concert, did tons of art and became an official Studio Arts major, and Shea and I are going through a lot of growth right now.

Self Portrait Project pt. 3

It's done and not done at the same time.

So after the last post, I went in and finished the right side. Then I spent days trying to figure out the left side.

During this process I also finished the hair. Here is my *first* finished version of the piece:

After my critique, I realized the shadows sucked, the left eye lid was too big, there were too many left eye lashes, and the background did nothing to enhance the image. So I fixed it:

I like it, but there are still a lot of thinks I want to change, but I doubt I'll have time to do. I'd like to use a bit more variety in my skin. It's very plastic looking. Part of that is due to the fact that I have a very difficult time blending with acrylic. I'd like to boost the contrast a little and add more detail. But for my first portrait, I'm pleased.

An Etsy Shop to Check Out and... I WON SOMETHING

I've been looking for a sleeve for my new Macbook for a while, and couldn't find quite what I was looking for anywhere. I was lucky enough to stumble upon an Etsy shop, btaylorquilts, that had a kindle case that I really liked. I contacted her and asked if she could use the same design for a Macbook sleeve, and look what she came up with!

This are the photos she sent me this morning before she lists it on Etsy!

When I first found her shop, I also found a link to her Facebook Page and Blog, where she announced there was a give-away contest from her shop hosted at Lillyella. I entered just for the heck of it and I found out today that I won! I got to pick from coasters, potholders, and eyeglass cases in her shop, and picked out these fallen leaves coasters.

I never win anything! 

My Week in Photos

I'm going to try something inspired by the blog of Kate Miss 

I take a lot of crappy iPhone photos each week just for mementos of moments that strike me. I'm going to post those photos every week or so. I may even post photos of Shea's haircut! Hopefully I'll start using my real camera too.

Here's this week in photos:

Lots of art this week. Sage really likes to help me when I draw with charcoal. Also got some cozy new shoes, cut Shea's hair, got flannel sheets with snowflakes in preparation for winter, and at Target I got the softest blanket I have ever touched. Softer than kittens. Even Sage thinks so. You can see it in the last two photos above. I slept very well last night. 

Yesterday I got to see the student version of Les Mis, which Shea and my sister Cassie both performed it. It was AMAZING. And Shea, who can barely hit middle C when he sings in front of me, sang the hell out of his solo. He hit his high note like it was nothing. And although he wasn't mic'd, he was louder than some who were! Gave me chills. 

I spent this morning buying music and will likely spend the afternoon working to it. It's great art doing music, especially the three albums I bought by Fink. 

And now I'm off to read about some art!