Getting Back in the Swing

I'm trying hard to get back into the swing of things. Between the physical strain of the Montrose show, the emotional strain of Frankie's egglaying, and the mental strain of trying to get the alpaca commission done, I've been exhausted. Also, I know I haven't been eating too well. While I would like to take a week off, I really need to get to work and do stuff.

One thing I need to do is work on a portrait of another alpaca. This one is a champion and the highest priced alpaca ever, so I really need to get this done and done well. At least there is no deadline, like on this other one, so it won't be as stressful.

And speaking of this other alpaca portrait, the owner received it today. She loves it! While I thought it was good, sometimes the client has a specific idea in their mind and the finished portrait doesn't match it. This is when there are problems. But Kathy loves it as does her husband and the frame shop, so it was worth the strain to get it done in time. And now it will be on display at the National Alpaca Show! (Hopefully, I will get some more commissions from it!)

I did manage to get a watercolor of a boxer dog done today, despite my tiredness. I don't know why I've been doing watercolor animals, but it probably has to do with speed. Yes, pastel is fast, but it's not good for small works. Watercolor is fairly fast and can be done on a small scale, so it should work well for eBay items. (Trying to do things for $10-40 requires speed!) Besides, I haven't ever done much with watercolor other than the botanicals, so it's fun. And since I did it on handmade paper, it's even more fun. The paper acts like a sponge since it's not sized. It also buckles a lot, so I'd share a photo of the boxer but it's being flattened over night.

Speaking of eBay, yesterday was a 10-cent listing day (list anything for 10 cents), so I put up 4 items -- 2 botanical watercolors, a new woodblock print, and a 5x7 portrait commission. I did the latter as a fixed price listing with the idea that it would draw people to my store where they would buy more expensive portraits. That was my plan. This morning, however, only 15 hours after I listed it, someone bought it. So much for my plan!