At Last My Hand is Complete!

So, I know I -just- updated, BUT i just finished my latest piece. I think I'm going to use it as my frontis piece for my tattoo portfolio. And I'm a pretty big fan of the texture I put on the roses.

Now I mentioned that I just got my tablet....like 14 hours ago...but I finally feel like a human being again. I'm doing art the way I want to be doing it and it feels amazing. It makes me feel more positively about everything. I know how sweeny todd felt about his barber blade thing. I've got the new bamboo pen and I'm using CS5 photoshop. I've got the trial version for the next 26 days but my christmas gift from my loving family is going to be the software I need to be the awesome artist I am meant to be. Hopefully I can talk them into the design premium CS set up as opposed to just photoshop so I can do all my web design and graphic design projects I want to do along with a flash animation I've had rolling around in my head for months.

I still haven't slept since last entry but I want to keep working. It's like I've been in a desert and now I have water to drink and I can't help but drink myself to death. Except less dramatic. PLUS I can finish my strength card...FINALLY!!!! I intend to take an epic nap later though....like an intense nap

Oh Stomach, You Cruel Master

Hello Blogger,

I can't sleep. I have a lot on my mind. Nothing bad just lots of things. I'm a thinker, plus my stomach decided to really really hate me. So i figured rather than lying around being sick and awake, I should sip a fizzy steaz energy, get some pep and get things done.

I just picked up some new tattoo mags and I've been flipping through them. My favorite bartender from philly was featured in Skin and Ink this month so I wanted to check out her pictures from the NYC convention. They look awesome Faith! That got me browsing artists so for the last hour I've been finding internet-y ways of following a few. Tara McPherson was featured in Skin and Ink as well and I have to say she's one of my new favorite artists. She's not a tattoo artist but is still an extremely talented illustrator and a pretty savy business woman it appears. I'm pretty sure I want to be her to like a T. Not in artistic style but she basically has all the things I want save the successful tattoo artist part in addition to being a kick ass illustrator.

I finally bought a tablet today. It's the new bamboo pen. It's alright but I prefer the former gen, especially since I can't flip the pen and get an eraser. Though I'm thankful to FINALLY have a tablet again at all. I'm pumped to get some work done. I'll make this upset stomach pay off if it's the last thing I do! I hope to post new art soon.

Today was a day of lots of thinking. I laid out my plans and goals to my boyfriend (over drinks, it was our miniversary today). He already knows them all but its good to talk about it. I'm really driven right now. I need to make it happen, i don't think I can settle for less or even almost. It's good to feel that motivation though I'm scared of self sabatoge. Being human can really kick you in the ass with all the complication of having a huge brain.

Here's to being unable to sleep causing me to work harder

New Art

Hello friends.
Here's a little update. I think I mentioned before that I'm working on a portfolio just for tattoo design. This is one of my classic gypsy designs with my friends name. I'm working with out a tablet but on CS5 so i've been able to do some cool things, though i still miss having a tablet. All in good time I guess. I've gotten a couple call back about some graphic design gigs here in loveland but so far nothing has panned out. Though this town does have some great galleries to get involved in as well as a big bronze sculpture community. I hear there's some major players out here. I also had a pretty good experience at a tattoo shop in Greeley. I might have a spot there in time, so keep your fingers cross for me.

On a side note I'm a little miffed about somethings, and have been for awhile. I used to be involved in a society of sorts and by involved I mean i was a member without any perks for being a member. No one in charge even communicated with me when I tried to contact them about things. I was only able to submit to one show because a friend was kind enough to tell me about it. When I mentioned this to those in charge, that I and other members were never let in on show dates and deadlines, instead of a response I got booted from the community. This really perturbed me. I am a good artist and it was really insulting to be treated that way. At least I could have been given a response or a reason. Recently they put on a Sailor Jerry show. When I was apprenticing I had to do a lot of research on Sailor Jerry and I know a whole lot of the guy. Most of the work I saw that was submitted seems to have no idea who he was or what he was about other than he was called a sailor and therefore must be really involved in mermaids. It just irked me beyond belief because this is a huge part of my life and something that I really hold close to my heart artistically but some dude decided I wasn't good enough to be part of a community with no notice what so ever, but its fine for people to have no clue about subject to submit to any show they want as long as they meet some unspoken standard. Maybe I'm bitter or maybe I think it's just not ok to be jerks.

When I finish certain pieces I'll make sure to post them so keep watching

Where Are We Now?

So if you've been keeping up on my twitter, you may have read that I had been traveling across the country. I've reached my new settlement here in Loveland, CO. Not the best place for the illustration biz but a good place to catch my breath. And the whole trip was great inspiration. Also while I'm here I can focus solely on my career. I can finally finish stuff and I'm close than ever to the computer set up I desperately need. It's exciting.

I'm also working on a brand new portfolio dedicated to tattoo design to be paired with my regular portfolio. I'm hoping to make that my day job, as impractical as that may seem. I'm hoping to have better luck find a place to hone my craft here in Loveland. Philly is not the most friendly to the up and coming in the tattoo biz. Wish me luck. When I'm done more of my designs I'll post a taste of my new portfolio. I'm unrealistically hoping for next week for that. I just really want to get out and into some shops sooner rather than later.