State of the Artist 12/31/2012

View halloo, all!

Well, this is it, the LAST State of the Artist update for 2012! :)

Wow... where did the year go?

 

Weekly Words

Your success and happiness lies in you. Resolve to keep happy, and your joy and you shall form an invincible host against difficulties.

- Helen Keller (1880-1968)

 

Current Project

Today is December 31, so tomorrow sees the kick-off the 2013 Sketch-A-Day Project! YAY!

Thank you to everyone who provided prompts to last week's post, there have been a lot of great replies! I'm both excited to start the project, and a bit nervous!

Last year I completed most of the sketches on toned paper, and I had a number of great responses, along with that small change generally leading to more complete sketches, so I'll be doing that again this year. I think it worked out quite well!

January also sees the launch of the Monthly Postcard Subscription Service! Again, I'll admit to being both excited and nervous about this project! This is very new for me, but I do hope those of you who have signed up will enjoy getting a new postcard in the mail with exclusive art!

If you'd like to sign up, or for more information, please be sure to check out the Postcard Subscription Service Info page!

Also, please be aware that if you sign up after the 7th of the month, your first postcard will arrive the following month. In order to make sure postcards arrive at international locations before the end of the month, all print ordering will be done by the 7th of each month.

 

Shop Silvertales

Shop Silvertales

2013 should see new items being uploaded to the Zazzle shop as the year goes on. If there is anything you'd like to see on a Zazzle product, be it a mug/phone case/magnet/whatever, please let me know!

Zazzle is having a "Make Your 2013" sale with 50-30% off cards and phone cases!

 

Near Future

Conventions and Appearances

First con up this year is OhayoCon: Columbus, OH January 18-20 so there will be a slight gap in the sketch-A-Day Project posting, but I'll be sure to get those sketches up once I get back.

If you'll be attending the convention, come visit me in the Artist Alley!

 

If you enjoy seeing new project or sneak peeks at WIP photos, please consider a donation!

Become a patron of the arts!

 

Thank you for joining me for another State of the Artist update!

State of the Artist: Call for Prompts

View halloo, all!

I hope everyone had a lovely holiday full of family, good food, and good spirits! I hope the sentiments of hope, happiness, joy, and peace follow you always! I am blessed and fortunate to have a bevy of wonderful friends in this online community, and I thank you all for your years of support!

Here on Planet Kit the holidays were definitely interesting. Our family usually celebrates twice, once for the Cuban side and once for the English side. Panda and I celebrated Nochebuena on Decmber 24th with traditional Cuban food of cerdo asado, arroz con frijoles, platanos maduros, yucca frita, and arroz con leche, otherwise known as: roast pork, black beans and rice, fried plantains, fried yucca, and rice pudding. :) On December 25th we planned to celebrate in the English style with rack of lamb, roast potatoes, Yorkshire puddings, peas... and Jack Daniels Apple Pie (not so English, I know, but no one makes trifle or mince pies like my Nana used to) ... until the oven element popped and died while preheating the oven... O.o!

So, it was Christmas Pizza! :)

 

In Monday's State of the Artist post, I said I was going to post a Call for Prompts to kick off the Sketch-A-Day Project in a few days... so, here it is!

If there is anything you'd like to see (themes, mythology, random anthropomorphisms, previously-drawm characters, concepts, etc) HERE is the place to post your ideas!

Please understand that the Request For Prompts is not a guarantee that your suggestion will be used (or used the way you envision) but more of a "throw inspiration at Kit so she'll have something to get the drawing motor running!"

I look forward to all your suggestions! :)

 

*Since the Sketch-A-Day Project kicks off on January 1st, and January 1st is a Tuesday, there may or may not be a State of the Artist on December 31st.*

 

If you enjoy seeing new project or sneak peeks at WIP photos, please consider a donation!

Become a patron of the arts!

View halloo, all!

It's Monday, which means it's time for another State of the Artist update! :) It's also December 24th, otherwise known in my house as Nochebuena. I wish you all the Merriest of Christmases, and may the sentiments of the holiday follow you always.

I'm so sorry I missed last Monday's post! After returning from the family trip on Saturday, the 15th, I ended up being laid out by a whopper of a virus that I must have caught towards the end of the trip.

 

Weekly Words

Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius and it's better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring.

- Marilyn Monroe (1926-1962)

We are all of us imperfect, and those imperfections shape how the world sees us and how we see ourselves. In turn, we evolve based on our journey through life, how others approach us, what they say to us and what they say about us. No one is an island of self-confidence without first being tested by the fires of outside influence.

 

Holiday Cards

I've had little notes from a number of people that they've received their holiday cards in the mail, so I'm going to go ahead and post the card design that went out this year. For those of you who may have missed the sign up deadline, or simply decided not to request a card this year, this was the 2012 Silvertales Holiday Card design:

The final card artwork is 9x12" mixed media on vellum surface bristol (which is a JOY to work on with quick drying media like alcohol-based inks! The blends are so smooooooooth!) If you'd like to own the original, it's available for $150. Please email to silvertales @ gmail . com (remove spaces) if interested!

 

Current Project

Whooo... currently, I'm still getting over being sick. I'm at the worn out and tired recovery stage, and slowly, but surely getting back to running on full steam.

Currently, I have commissions to get back to now that I can stay awake more than an hour at at time and my head doesn't feel stuffed full of cotton all the time anymore... I have thumbnails and progress-sketches to get to people. That's first on the list of things To Do today.

I did take a few pictures while on the 2012 family Pirates of the Backyard cruise, and if people are interested, I'll work up a picture post and "report" of the trip! I wish I'd taken more pictures... hopefully, I can borrow some from my aunt and uncle who likely took entire memory cards full of images. :)

 

Near Future

First announcement for Near Future projects is the upcoming 2013 Sketch-A-Day Project! Starting January 1st, I'll begin posting one sketch a day for the entire month. There will be a slight interruption for a few days as I'll be attenting OhayoCon for the first time this year, and it is January 18-20th, so I won't be posting from 1/17-1/21 but I'll batch upload those days sketches when I get back home and thaw out. As a South Florida native, I'm definitely going to have bundle up for that one!

On December 26th, I'll be posting a Call for Prompts post for the Sketch-A-Day project, so if there's anything in particular you want to see (or even the reapparance of a character I've drawn in the past) that will be the post to leave your suggestions!

The Near Future also sees the lauch of the Monthly Postcard Subscription Service! For no more than the cost of two snazzy coffees a month, you can get a postcard delivered to your mailbox featuring new and exclusive artwork! The postcards will be a random assortment of themes, subjects, and media... one month could be a botanical watercolor study and the next could be an abstract! There are multiple subscription options available for US and international residents. If you'd like to know more, or sign up, please visit the Subscription Page found here for information!

 

Conventions and Appearances

I'll be attending the following conventions:

OhayoCon Columbus, OH January 18-20 and MegaCon Orlando, FL March 15-17

If you'll be attending either con, come stop by the table and say hi, pick up prints of your favorite pieces, or commission something original just for you!

 

If you enjoy seeing new project or sneak peeks at WIP photos, please consider a donation!

Become a patron of the arts!

Thank you for joining me for another State of the Artist update.

State of the Artist 12/3/2012

View halloo, all!

It's Monday, which means it's time for another State of the Artist update! :)

Just an announcement, there will not be a State of the Artist update for Monday, December 10th, as a family get-together will take me away from the Intarwebz. A week without internet, or my cat... yikes!

 

Weekly Words

There are always two people in every picture: the photographer and the viewer. - Ansel Adams 1902-1984

The artist is always in everything they produce, no matter how they try to divorce themselves from their work, or claim they do. There is always a piece of their soul in every piece, a piece they put on display for all the world to see.

 

Current Project

I've got commission projects on my plate through the end of the year, so they are taking up most of my time at the moment.

Holiday Cards are addressed and signed, and in the mail today! Whew!

US residents should be receiving their cards by the end of the week at the latest, while most international residents should have them by the end of next week (barring any local postal holidays in your country of residence.)

I'll be posting the card image when I return from the family vacation, on Monday, December 17th, for people who didn't request cards, and I'll be making the original image available for purchase for anyone who'd like to have the original artwork.

After Christmas, I'll be making the cards available for order on Zazzle, too!

 

Shop Silvertales

Shop Silvertales

Last week's Perfect Gentlephalopod now has a friend! He's the Perfect Pachiydentleman!

Resplendent in his best suit and waistcoat, this very proper pachyderm pours a perfect cuppa! Like the Perfect Gentlephalopod, he's on mugs, t-shirts, cards, and various phone/eReader skins and cases. He, and the octopus gent, really look great on the black shirts!

I'm having too much fun with these little Victorian-esque animal doodles....

 

Near Future

At the moment, I'm mostly gearing up for January's Sketch-A-Day project and the launch of the Postcard Subscription Service!

I'm super-excited about the postcard service, the idea of sending a little bit of Real Mail that isn't a bill or junk mail to people with new and exclusive art makes me very happy! I hope people who sign up will be excited about it, too!

If you'd like to know more about the subscription service and options, or to sign up, check out the permanent page here: Postcard Subscription Service Page!

 

Conventions and Appearances

I'll be attending:

OhayoCon in Columbus, OH January 18-20 (which will interrupt the Sketch-A-Day Project, but only briefly and I'll just upload those days sketches when I return) so, if you'll be at the con come by and say hi, buy your favorite prints, or commission something original! :)

I'll put up a list of conventions I'll be sending art to their Art Shows via mail-in once I've gotten all those squared away.

 

If you enjoy seeing new project or sneak peeks at WIP photos, please consider a donation!

Become a patron of the arts!

 

Thank you for joining me for another State of the Artist update.