Works in Progress and Completed

I decided that Monday's just didn't work for an update on what I'm working on. Since I scan things in on Sunday, both for eBay and for my website, I might as well do this update blog at the same time.

While I have several things planned for this week, I know that I'll be lucky to get anything done. This week my husband (and his d-o-g) will be home for a week for our anniversary. I now people may not consider this professional behaviour, but I'm giving him most of my attention and time and not sitting in my studio and working. But in case I have time to do stuff, such as when he's working on his truck, here are my plans.

Works in Progress and Planned

• portrait of Pancake -- I have the drawing done, but I'm waiting to hear back from the client about the background. I'm also struggling with getting enough courage up to start the painting -- it's not so much the painting that's the problem, but the fact that I'm doing this as a demo and everyone is watching.
• portrait of Paca -- I'm still waiting on new photos.
• a botanical watercolor of an iris -- This was going to be a hybrid Phragmipedium but I decided that this orchid would be better on a larger scale, so I've started on an iris. The reason I didn't just do the orchid larger now is (a) I only have 1 sheet of 7x10 paper left and want to use it and (b) I need to buy another block of 9x12 paper.
• an artcard of a squash -- This is just going to be a fun little art card with lots of textures.
• a floral oil painting of an orchid -- Another 5x7 orchard painting in oil. This one will be a purple vanda hybrid.
• Irises in a Square Vase -- I have this planned out, but it's just a matter of getting started on it.

I would have liked to get more done this last week, but I (stupidly) decided to do this Best Offer Sale on eBay. That has taken most of my time. Well, the problems with the IRS, my auto insurance, and a part for my husband's truck all ate up huge amounts of time. But while I didn't get a lot of stuff done, I'm very pleased with the quality of the 3 pieces I did finish.

Recently Completed Works

Zorro Bunny -- This is an artcard in oil of a domestic rabbit, which I named Zorro because of his mask. I only had one small picture of this bunny, so I used the wild rabbits in my yard for the details on the face.

Pink Passionflower Hybrid -- This is another artcard in oil. I had done a very similar artcard in colored pencil and ink, but I never liked it. So, I redid it in oils. And it came out a whole lot better in my opinion. I did have a little problem with the reddish-pink. At first, it was too pink and too bright, but one of the nice think about oils is that one can correct minor problems easily. So, I glazed a bit of reddish-pink paint over the bright pink and it was exactly the right color. The glazing also added an incredible amount of depth to the flower, so I had to do a bit of glazing on the leaves to make it look right.

Red Miltonia Hybrid -- This is a 5x7 oil painting of a red hybrid miltonia orchid. I really enjoyed doing this little piece because it was simple to paint, was done in one day, and involved 'pretty' colors.

Best Offer Sale Update

Well, so far my Best Offer Sale is doing okay. I received 2 reasonable offers, which I accepted. Also, people are watching several items -- hopefully waiting to make an offer when I stop listing new items. I had envisioned a lot more activity but a little bit is still better than none.

The problem I'm having right now is that I said I was going to list 5 items per day. So far, I have basically listed items that I had in my store at one time or another. This means that the pictures and descriptions are already on my computer and/or web site, so I just have to cut and paste. Tomorrow, I'll be listing some new-to-eBay items, which means I'll have to scan them in, upload images, and write descriptions. So, something that I figured would take only an hour to do per day, will now be more like2-3 hours.

And that's not in my schedule!

What I need to figure out is what to put up. So far I've listed prints, animals, still lifes, and botanicals -- my normal mix of eBay stuff. But like I said, I'm running out of previously listed items. I have one more print I could list and a couple of animal pieces. I could list other botanicals, although I'm a bit hesitant because I don't want to give some of these away! I could also list some abstract pieces, but they are sooo different from the realistic stuff, I don't know. I did get one request to list some nudes, but I had planned on listing them when I started listing goddess artwork. And then there's the brand new stuff -- done in the last couple of months -- which I really hate to list now as I'm going to try to list a couple of items per week from Sept thru May. I want to make sure I have enough stuff!

What really annoys me is that I created this problem myself. Why did I say 5 per day?!

eBay Changes

Just when I think I have figured out eBay, they change the game.

One recent change is to the fees for eBay store items. Instead of 2-cents for a 30-day listing regardless of price, the listing fees will be $0.05 for items $0.01-24.99 and $0.10 for items $25.00 and over. Then the final value fees (fees after you sell something) also will increase from 8% to 10% for itmes under $25, and from 5% to 7% for items $25-100.

While these changes may seem minor, they do add up. For example, if I list 20 items in my store for a year, that used to cost $4.80. Now the listing fees will be $18.00 (if 10 items are under $25 and 10 are over) for the year. That's 375% increase!!! Now, multiply this times the number of eBay stores, say 200,000, and you can see we are talking some serious money for eBay. ($3.6 million/year) This is just the listing fees -- add the final value fees and it's really serious money!

So, rather than put a lot of items in my store and have them continually available, I'm going to have to be a bit more selective. (Okay, I can afford the $18.00/year, but I'm one of many artists who are very upset at eBay's greed!) I'm not sure what I will do -- list things related to what I'm putting on auction, list things that are too expensive to list at auction, list .... I don't know. I'll think about it.

Another possible change has to do with how things are found when one searches for items on eBay. eBay doesn't admit they are tweaking the search methods, but.... well a number of artists insist they are. Everytime they change how search results are found (all itmes listed by ending date, featured items first, no store items,...), it's a lottery as to whether it helps my items be found or not.

Anyway, I've decided not to list anything on auction until at least mid-September, so I can figure out what is going on. Also this will give me a chance to get caught up on portrait commissions. In the meantime, I will be listing about 5 items per day in my store (before 22 Aug when the new fees take effect), all with Best Offer options. Hopefully, I will sell a few items and clean out my store, so I'll have less store inventory.

Now, if eBay just leaves everything alone for a while, I might actually figure out how to make the new changes work for me!

Mental Yoga

Okay, I have a schedule of when I'm suppose to do stuff daily (so I can get everything done). I was enjoying it and getting things done right up until the time others found out about it and are doing their best to mess it up.

Yep, people have found out and now my schedule is a mess. First one was my neighbor who invited me out for breakfast, which then stretched into mid-morning coffee because she needed to talk. There went that morning's "portrait/eBay artwork" timeslot.

Then there was the problem with my auto insurance, which meant that I had to call during normal working hours. One simple call turned into 3-4 calls and 3-4 call backs, so there went that afternoon's "personal artwork" period.

Today's first mess was the IRS' turn. Seems you send them a check 8 days ago, for a deadline today, and it takes them 2 weeks to process the check before you can find out if the check arrived on time or not. (If not, one can do an electronic payment and avoid the penalty for late payment.) Hey, it only took 45 minutes to get to a person who could tell me,... well,.. nothing because they don't have a clue where my check is until it's fully processed next week.

And today's finally "let's get rid of the schedule" mess is brought to me by eBay. I listed a few items and it seems they can't find my gallery pictures. I checked my website, and the photos are there. I revised the items and eBay still says the photos are fine but they arn't appearing in the listings. So I resubmitted the gallery photos, and I got another notice that the photos weren't available from the host. So, there went the morning with no art done and no gallery photos either.

Just to prove to everyone that I have not gone nuts, here's the photo that according to eBay doesn't exist:

Vulture Pot, oil on canvas

I'm trying to remain calm and just say to myself that things crop up and I need to go with the flow. But it's not easy. I have my schedule planned so I get artwork done, I have time to read/relax, I exercise, and I keep the house clean. I don't have time to deal with the IRS for an hour or to deal with eBay's newest glitch!

So, I get to practice some mental yoga. I do need to learn to be more flexible, as I have a tendency for yes/no thinking. If I miss one or two periods of doing art or I don't take a morning walk, the world doesn't come to an end. I just need to pick up from where I am and go back to my schedule. There's really no point in trying to catch up -- it's really only a way to beat myself up.

Just relax, and go with the flow. Be flexible. Take a deep breath.

And if all else fails, go hug a cat or two!

Oh ****!!!

Okay, I know I'm not suppose to use certain words in public, so you'll just have to guess at what word I used.

Here's what happened to give you an idea of which section of the dictionary to look in. I was watering plants this morning and decided that I should move a couple of plants. I had these plants sitting in a 1/2 wine barrel, behind chicken wire, so that the rabbits couldn't eat them. When I picked one up, I noticed some small white grains of rice moving along in the moist soil where the pot had been sitting. I quickly picked up another pot, and more white critters. After removing the rest of the pots, I moved the barrel (not easy to do when it's full of soil) and there were more white critters.

One word -- TERMITES!!!

Next words -- Oh ****!!!

A couple of years ago we found them inside our house, so we had the house treated and trenched. In theory, the trenching chemicals should last 5 years, so in theory we have 3 years to go. But I don't like to push our luck. So, I moved that barrel and another one out by the retaining wall. The other one didn't have any termites, so I'm hoping the problem is in one area of the yard.

But this does give me a wake up call on moist soil and the nasty buggers. I was going to put in roses and other perennials up next to our house, but not now -- I'd just be attracting them closer. Instead, I'm going to put in a cactus and succulent bed, which will require less water, so it shouldn't be as attractive to termites.

I really wish that someone had given me a handbook for desert living when I moved in here. Who knew that a whiskey barrel with moist soil in would attract termites?!

Works in Progress and Completed

I thought I would use my Monday blog to let everyone know what I'm working on for the comming week and what I have finished the prior week. Not only will this assuage people's curiosity (one of the most common questions I get is what am I working on), but it will help me organize what I want to get done each week. Also, this will be a way for me to talk about individual pieces on a more personal level, rather than my "just the facts" descriptions on eBay and my web site.

Works in Progress and Planned

• Portrait of Pancake -- This is a portrait of a border collie in oil, which I'm using for a demo on my web site. Right now, I'm working on getting a good working drawing done. Once that's done and I get a few details cleared up from the owner, I'll start on the actual portrait.
• Portrait of Paca -- I had planned on working on this oil portrait of a cat, but I ran into difficulty due to the photos or an adequate model (Paca has a shortened face and none of my cats do), so the owner has agreed to take some more photos. I'm hoping that the photos will arrive soon so I can get back to work on this portrait also. (It's easier to do 2 oil portraits at once, since the brushes will only have to be cleaned once.)
• a botanical watercolor of a hybrid Phragmipedium (orchid) -- I have one sheet of 7x10 watercolor paper left on a watercolor block and I have one gorgeous photo of this orchid, so it seemed perfect to use both at once. Besides, I've been doing a series of small orchids and this will fit in nicely. I will be starting on the drawing for this painting in the next couple of days.
• an artcard of a bunny -- Once I start listing things on eBay again, I would like to list 2-3 items a week, so I'm planning on using artcards as fillers. This will be of a domestic rabbit and will be done in oil. It's sketched out and just waiting for me to get the oils out.
• a floral oil painting of an orchid -- This is just a little painting (5x7) of a red Miltonia hybrid. The main reason for this painting, other than the beauty of the flowers, is to give me some practice at working in oils before I start on a portrait. (I've haven't worked with oils since spring.)
• Irises in a Square Vase -- This will be the last of my floral boutique series.

Well, that should be enough for one week! Actually, I may get a bit more done, depending on how long it takes me to get the photos of Paca and how many distractions happen. If I run out of things to do, I'll just do a couple more small oil paintings.

Recently Completed Works

Pink Trout Lily -- This is an artcard done in watercolor. While it came out fine, I had hoped for a bit brighter look, so I may redo it in oils on a larger scale. The paper seemed to lack its sizing so the watercolor sunk into the paper more than it should have.

Calypso bulbosa -- This is one of our native orchids and a real gem to find. It's not the most spectacular orchid, but for people that collect paintings of native orchids, it should be appreciated. (It seems that the only native orchids one sees are ladyslipper orchids.) Overall, I think the leaves are too dark, but it's the way the plant looked, so I can't really get too upset. I would have liked to do a close-up of the flowers but this was painted life-sized, so the flowers are only 1.5 inches long.

Anemones in a Crock --This is one of my boutique series paintings. It was done in pastel and watercolor and came out fine. I had a terrible time trying to figure what color the background should be -- blue, yellow-green, or yellow-brown. After about a dozen small color sketches, I settled on the brown version. What was interesting was I put too much pink in one wash and that really perked the background up. My husband really likes this one, but I still prefer the sunflowers I did in this series.

Off the Bookshelf

One of the things I'm doing with my new life plan (yikes! I sound like Dr. Phil) is to read more and to read better quality books. And since several readers of my blog have asked what I am reading, I thought I'd write about what I'm reading and why and what I thought of the books when I'm done with them. The latter point is to perhaps help others out when it comes to picking out a good book to read.

Before I get to the books, I should explain one other thing. In the past, I have tried to read 2-3 novels, a couple of non-fiction books, and 1 or 2 self-help books all at once -- basically I had a nice pile of books next to the bed. I know I didn't do any of them justice so I now limit myself to 1 novel and 1 non-fiction book. It's not easy to do, since I'll be doing something and see a book and just want to start reading it. Instead, I now have a pile of books to read in the study, not beside my bed.

Here's what I've finished lately:

• A Sophisticate's Primer of Relativity, by P.W. Bridgman -- I bought this book on a whim, hoping it would help me begin to understand relativity (which is background to string theory which is what I really want to understand). Despite it's title, this is not a primer on relativity. In fact, the author does state he expects the reader to be familiar with relativity theory and its equations. (The book has 2 equations in it, so the math behind the theory wasn't a problem.) I found the book to be almost useless because it was a reprint of an older book (1962) and still talked about ether, because the author seemed a whole lot more interested in the philosophy of science than in discussing the theory of relativity, and because the author often referred to various experiments and papers which I have no knowledge of.
• Op-Center: State of Siege, by Tom Clancy and Steve Pieczenik -- I bought this at the library's book sale sometime ago because hubby was reading Clancy's novels and forced me to read them in self-defense. It was entertaining, but not challenging from a literary point of view. Basically, something bad happens, good guys fight to save the day, and there's a lot of technical jargon. This one , however, was more interesting than some of the Op-Center series because of the background given on the League of Nations and the founding of the UN.

Presently, I'm reading these two books:

• The Hours, by Michael Cunningham -- I found this novel at the library booksale and bought it because this book and it's author has won numerous awards, so it must be good. (So far as in I'm on chapt 2, it is good.) The basic outline is 3 women, with 3 diferent lives, and somehow they get connected by the end of the book.
• Regarding the Pain of Others, by Susan Sontag -- Years ago, I saw Sontag on Charlie Rose and thought she sounded interesting, so I bought several of her books. Lately I found this book, so, since the subject is photography and its influence on war perception, I thought it was very appropriate to read now.

I do wish I had a bit more time to read -- I used to take whole afternoons or days off to read a book -- but I have so many other things to do. So, my reading is confined to a half hour or so after lunch, at night (since I don't watch much tv), and on weekends when I'm having my days off. But I'm also finding it nice to be looking forward to reading a bit more everyday.

Focusing on the Important

I never knew that evacuating from a fire several weeks ago would totally change my way of looking at things, but it did. While it sounds dramatic, it was a life-changing event.

The key part was having a couple of hours (about 3) to pack everything I considered valuable into a small pickup. While this might sound difficult, it really wasn't -- I was on autopilot. First came the pets and their supplies. Then came the "important papers", such as current bills, social security card, passport, insurance policy, etc. After that I packed my CPU, my art business records, and some of the artwork. When it came to the artwork, I took those pieces that I had sold but were waiting to ship, some small "sellable" artwork, a number of sculptures, and a few pieces that I refuse to sell because I like them too much. Most of the latter were abstract pieces and still lifes with wonderful textures. And finally, a few household and personal items that I figured would be hard to replace or which I had strong attachments to. This included my Schaaf knives, a Gesswein, music CD's, an antique Tibetan prayer bowl, and a couple of trash bags full of stuffed animals.

The bottomline was, except for some of the artwork, everything I took was valuable to me. Notice I didn't take clothes, jewelry, books, furniture, a tv, ... or anything that most people take. I doubt that most others would have packed teddy bears instead of clothes, but that's what I did.

After the crisis was over, I unpacked and started to think about what I had taken. I was silently comparing it to how I live my life, what I do for art, and how I view possessions. It took a few weeks for this to soak in and then to blossom into a new insight into what I want in life. And slowly over these weeks I have re-arranged my life to reflect this new insight.

On a personal level, this has meant that I am back to spending time gardening, cleaning my house regularly, reading decent books, etc. All these things I have done sporadically, but now I'm finding time to do them regularly. This is accomplished by understanding for example I don't have to spend an entire afternoon reading (I can read for 30 minutes and then put down the book) -- a little everyday can accomplish a lot over time.

On a physical level, I am doing tai chi, cooking decent food, and trying to lose weight. One of the keys to the latter is a vow not to eat commercial deserts or sweet stuff -- if I'm too lazy to bake something, I don't get to eat it! So far, I've lost 2+ pounds and feel a whole lot better.

In terms of art, this will mean that I will divide my time between "sellable" art and "personal" art. Sellable art includes portraits and art that I intentionally do to sell on eBay. For example, I know irises are well liked, so if I do another botanical watercolor of one, it would be in this category. The personal art is stuff I want to do for me with no real expectation that it will ever sell. Most of my scultpures, abstracts, and "textured" still lifes are personal art. (This is the stuff I took because I wanted it and not because I should.) While this will mean I produce less stuff for eBay, I honestly think that in the long-run, I will end up selling more because I'll be happier.

I'm still working at trying to fit everything in that I want to do, while still having enough time for doing art. It's been an interesting exercise, though. And while I would have prefered not to have been evacuated, I'm glad something positive has come out of the experience.

Evacuating with Pets, Update

As I wrote earlier, when I evacuated with my pets due to a fire, I could not find a place to go. The Red Cross refuses to let anyone brings pets to a shelter. Since I like tilting at windmills, I thought I would see what could be done to change the situation.

First thing I did was call the local Red Cross chapter, the Morongo Basin Red Cross Chapter. I was told that pets couldn't be allowed in the shelters because it was the national Red Cross policy. The lady also said it was the job of animal control and the Humane Society to deal with the animals. She also denied that any pets were evacuated on buses during Hurricane Rita last year.

So, the next call was to the national Red Cross, after looking over their website. Their website said that it was state laws and regulations which prohibited allowing animals into shelters. The young lady who answered the phone told me that while the Red Cross people like animals they can't allow animals into the shelters because animals might carry disease, fleas, ticks, etc, and because some people have allergies to pets. When asked about what their website said, i.e., the laws, the young lady couldn't cite which laws they were refering to. Just a note: most of her replies were read from a script and when I asked to talked to someone who could directly answer my questions, I was told that was not possible.

The West Coast Office of the US Humane Society was my next call. There I asked what was their relationship to the Red Cross and what they could do to help the situation. The well informed man told me that they have been working with various chapters of the Red Cross to help with pets. The amount of success varies from state to state, chapter to chapter, with some California locations to be in the forefront and some lagging way behind. Also he told me about the two following pieces of legislation:

H.R. 3858: Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards Act of 2005 (PETS Act) -- This bill would force authorities to make emergency plans which take into consideration household pets and service dogs. Last week, it passed the US House and now heads to the Senate. It's Senate bill S. 2548, so I hope everyone joins me in writing to their senators supporting this bill.

California Legislature AB 450 -- This piece of legislature would've forced California emergency planners to take into account household pets. California apparently has a program for dealing with animals in emergencies (CARES), but it is not actually a law, so the Office of Emergency Services does not have to follow it. Unfortunately, it was "shelved" by the Senate's Appropriation Committee.

Hopefully, California will wake-up and pass this before the next disaster hits here. I don't want to camp out in my truck with 4 cats and 6 parrots and no potty!!!

Weekly(?) Update

Hmm, this daily (or near daily) blog is turning into a weekly blog. I'm not too happy about that, so I'll try to fit it in more often. I do find the writing to be helpful -- not only do I enjoy writing, but I get my thoughts better organized.

So, since I last wrote, here's what's been happening. (Or another way to put it, here are my excuses for not writing, doing art, etc.)

It's been hot and humid. I live in a desert, so 110 in the summer isn't all that unusual. Lately, as you may have heard on the news, southern California has been having a heat wave. Palm Springs hit 121 on Sunday, I think it was. Here, it's been over 110 on several days, with most days in the 105-110 range. But what's really unusual is the humidity. Normal humidity is 10-20%. Thanks to the 'monsoon flow' from Arizona and Baja, the humidities have been over 40% and in fact yesterday was 65%. Combine the heat and the humidity and it's miserable to do anything. Stepping outside is like stepping into a sauna. Heck the other day I walked maybe 50 feet and my t-shirt smelled like it had just come out of the drier!

The electricity has been iffy. With all the heat, electricity demand has been at record levels. So, the power companies have asked people to conserve. Being a good person, I set my thermostat at 82. (I personally would like to know if I'm the only one who does this, because they are talking on the news about people getting $1000 electric bills. Mine is $60.) Throw into the fact that for the last week or so, our lights have been flicker several times a day. I don't know if it's due to the demand or to the repairs (from the fire), but I don't want to ruin this computer with some weird power-surge/power-drop. (Yes, I have a surge protector, but I don't really trust it.)

Then there's been the afternoon t-storms. It seems almost every afternoon we get at least the threat of t-storms. Most have been thunder, lightning, and very little rain. But the lightning is a concern, especially after our big fire (the Sawtooth Complex Fire).

And then there's the new fires. Since I last wrote, we have had 6 smaller fires within a 15 mile radius. Most have been 20 acres or less, but one did grow to over 1000 acres. All these were lightning started fires. I must confess, I'm more than a bit jumpy. Thankfully, most of these fires are out or contained.

Finally, I'm doing some deep thinking and re-arranging my life. There's nothing like an evacuation and major disaster to wake a person up and point out what's wrong with their life. This little fire has done that for me. I seem to have clearer idea of what's wrong with parts of my life, what I want to change, what I like, and what's important. I had been heading to re-arranging my life before the fire, but now I'm doing it. The problem this creates is trying to get things into an organized manner so I can get stuff done. (I'll write more on this later.)

So that's what I've been upto for the last week. As you can see, I haven't been doing much art, but I'm getting anxious to get to work and now the weather is beginning to cooperate.

Pets and the Fire

I know it's been some time since I last wrote anything, but I was feeling depressed and then there was a fire. The fire which is officially called the Sawtooth Complex Fire burnt over 61,000 acres and came within a mile (or less) of my house. In fact, it was burning so fiercely and was totally uncontained that this area, known as Flamingo Heights, was evacuated for sometime. So, I loaded up my pickup with my valuables, stuffed the critters in carriers, and left. I won't be brave here -- I was scared that I would never see my house again.

But the moment I left my house, I had another serious problem. I had no place to go.

Yes, the Red Cross had set up an evacuation center in town but there were 2 problems. First, the main road from here to there was closed due to the fire. Second, the Red Cross in this area at least does not allow animals in their shelters. In fact, in last weekend's local paper, there was a picture of an elderly man with his small dog in his arms standing in front of the shelter's doors which had "NO PETS" posted on them. What was he going to do? Abandon his dog, which may be the only 'thing' he has left after the fire?

I called the Red Cross and asked if they knew what I was suppose to do. They gave me the names (but not the phone numbers) of local animal shelters which were taking in pets. I called them. (Always take a local phone book with you when you evacuate.) The animal shelters were taking dogs, cats, horses, donkeys, emus, etc, but not parrots. "Parrots are too delicate for us to deal with." WHAT??? My parrots all were in cages, so the only thing anyone had to do was fill a dish with water and one with seed and they would have survived just fine. And I really wasn't planning on leaving them there alon except for a few potty breaks. In fact, I would rather deal with a cockatiel in a cage than a scared pitbull on a leash any day!!!

So, while sitting in the parking lot of a local grocery store, I called a couple of local people who weren't in evacuated areas. Basically, I was just asking to part my truck in their driveway and maybe to use their bathroom, but not to let my cats and parrots run thru their house. I called 3 people, and was turned down by 3 people. I finally got ahold of my vet in Big Bear City and she had no problem with me coming up there (50 miles away), and that's were I would have headed had not the mandatory evacuation been made voluntary.

As soon as the mandatory evacuation was made voluntary, I unvolunteered and went home. Not only would my animals be more comfortable at home, but I had to go to the bathroom!

It's been over a week since I had my little evacuation, but I'm still mad as hell at how I was treated by the Red Cross, by animal shelters, and by my acquaintances. Didn't the Red Cross learn anything from Katrina? Do they honestly expect anyone to leave a pet behind -- a pet the person has had for 10 or 15 years? What happened to pulling together in times of need? I talked to one animal controll officier who was picking up the neighbor's goats (hey, if you have large animals and no trailer, they will help!) and he was disgusted with the Red Cross over this "NO PETS" policy as it only made their jobs harder.

The local radio station had a call in show about the fire so I called in and voiced my concerns and problems with evacuating with pets. I was told that the Red Cross's concern was the people first. Fine, people probably should come first, but if people will not leave a cherished pet behind because there is no place to go, then what good has the Red Cross done?

Until the Red Cross changes its rules, I refuse to donate any money, artwork, or time to them. They were not there for me, so why should I be there for them? Yes, I'm bitter, but my pets are part of my family and what they did was to tell me I had to choose which members of my family would survive and which might burn to death. I'm also going to try to find out who sets this "NO PETS" policy and see if I can get it changed.

One ray of sunshine in all this was the Hi-Dez Kennel. The next day they set up an animal shelter and would accept ALL animals including parrots. And if I didn't mind sleeping on the floor, I was more than wlecome to stay with my animals. While it was a bit late for my excursion, it was wonderful to know that I did have a place to go if I had to evacuate again.

Here a a few pet evacuation tips that I learned:

1. Have enough carriers and small cages on hand for all the critters. I was one carrier short so my macaw rode on my shoulder the whole day. Since the fire, I have purchased another carrier or two.
2. Have the carriers handy. I had time, luckily, to find all the carriers and small cages which were 'hidden' in my garage. Now they are in 2 locations which are easy to get to.
3. Test fit the carriers in your car/truck. Since I have parrots and this was a fire with lots of smoke, I didn't want to put them in the back of my pickup, but fitting them in the cab as a challenge. I finally figured out how, but if I had had a carrier for the macaw, it wouldn't have worked. So, the new carriers are smaller and will fit much nicer.
4. Get the pet used to the carrier before the crunch time.
5. If there is a possibility of being evacuated, confine cats (and small dogs) to a spare bathroom, so they can't hide when it's time to go. One cat hid behind the bed, which I had to move to get to him.
6. Take any special food (or medication). Parrots tend to eat only the food they are used to, so make sure you take some of it -- say for a couple of days. And since my cats eat a raw food diet (Emily will get sick on commercial cat food), I packed a cooler with their food. I actually now have small tubs of the parrots normal food ready to go at a moment's notice, so I don't have to run around looking for containers.
7. Take water. Since my zoo was confined to my pickup cab and since it was hot, having some water for them to drink was especially needed. I had also brought a spray bottle which I used to mist the parrots and help cool them.
8. Take paper towels. We barely got moving when one of my cats had an accident.
9. Take a small litter box and some litter. I have an old, small litter box that is just big enough for a cat, but in case of emergency, it should work. (It's about the size of a large cake pan.) My only problem was since I had no place to go, I just could let the cats out of their carriers to use the box, lest they run off. I guess if I really had to live in my truck for a couple of days, I could have move the birds outside (in their cages), put the litter box on the floor of the cab, and then let the cats out to use it. Hmm, better not forget the pooper-scooper!
10. Find several places to go now, before the disaster is happening. I now have 2 people in nearby towns that will take my and my zoo, plus my vet. But quite honestly, I will be very hesitant to evacuate again.

The bottomline is this: if you have pets and you need to evacuate, chances are for the first day or so, you will be totally on your own, so you need to have food, water, and potty stuff covered for you and your pets.

The Monsoon Season

Today was pretty good -- better than most in the last week or so. I even dealt with the IRS mess and came out feeling okay. Well, I was a bit surprised. After being on hold for most of the afternoon ("Your call is very important to us" -- ah, right), the IRS dude was friendly, helpful, and everything seems resolved. We still owe money, but in theory the letters should stop (they admitted one was a mistake) and I'm not longer afraid that I'll wake up one morning with IRS agents standing over my bed!!!

Anyway, I did get some art done, despite the IRS and the monsoon.

Monsoon??? Yes, monsoon. Or rather the beginning of the monsoon season. And yes I still live in the desert. The monsoon season is the part of summer when high pressure systems stall out over southern California and this brings up hot, humid air from the Gulf of Baja (or even the Gulf of Mexico on occassion). This humid air meets the mountains and dry air and in theory we get rain. In practical terms, Arizona usually gets more rain than we do here. And Joshua Tree, CA (about 20 miles east of here) gets more rain than we do here in Flamingo Heights. But we still get the lightning and power outages!

The first couple of years we lived hear, there were no monsoon seasons. This year, we are getting extra humidity for some reason, so we might actually get rain. So far it's only been humidity which is not fun when it's 106 degrees out. Today, we had clouds and lightning (with power interruptions), plus I could see the rain over yonder.



The above picture is the beginning of the clouds coming over the mesas and hills to the west. The funny looking tree is a Joshua tree (Yucca brevifolia). There's also the dead rose bushes (in the foreground), creosote, cholla cactus, and my jujuba tree. (Not a bad photo considering it was taken with my camera phone!)

A Rollercoaster Ride

I'm still hanging in here and am at least getting caught up on stuff so I can do art tomorrow. But it's not easy. I don't just wake up one morning and find that I'm over my depressiong. It's more like 2 steps forward and 1 step back. And the steps can be measured in minutes, hours, or days. Today they were measured in 2 hour chunks.

Here's the scenario. I get up and do my morning stuff (feed cats, do tai chi, water plants, eat,...) and things seem fine. Since it's going to be hot, I go in to town early to buy cat food. I get home, eat lunch, and then BLAH happens. Suddenly, my upbeat mood goes down the tube and I feel exhausted beyond belief. The question is what happened. And I don't have a clue. Maybe it was the heat, maybe it was that I forgot a couple of things in the grocery store (forgot to take my shopping list), or maybe it was the position of Venus with respect to the 3 moon of Jupiter or something. So for the next couple of hours, I'm down again. Then I go get the mail and there's a small package for me. I called L.N. who sent me the present and we had a wonderful chat, so now I'm feeling better again.

What will tomorrow be like? I don't know. Probably some up's and fewer down's (hopefully).

The scary part is that I need to get back to doing art. I have missed doing it while I've been depressed, but I also know that if I do stuff while feeling like I did, that I would have just wasted time and supplies. So now I'm faced with the proposition of doing art. I know that sounds easy, and for some it is, but for me, when I have long breaks off from doing art, it's hard to get back into the rhythm of doing it. Thankfully, I have a couple cat sketches to do as a warm up and a botanical watercolor to paint which should be easier to do than a portrait.

Right now, I'll finish sketching out a balloonflower (the botanical watercolor) while listening to my new Dixie Chicks CD. I especially love the line "Can't bring myself to do what it is you think I should."

Almost Melted Away

I know, it's been a while since I last wrote anything. I could use the excuse that I'm too busy, or that it's been too hot, or that I've had to deal with the IRS. All these things are true, but the real reason is that I've been depressed and have not wanted to do much of anything.

Right now, I'm pulling myself up and trying to get back into the swing of things. Eventually, I'll get all the emails answered, and I'll get back to listing on eBay, and I'll get working on my newsletter, and.... Hold it -- that's why I got depressed in the first place. first I get exhausted from trying to do everything, then I get frustrated at not doing it all, and then finally I get depressed.

So, I'm going to try to do some fun, non-art stuff every day. If that means I do less art per day, then fine, because I think in the long run I'll produce more because I won't be taking whole weeks off. Besides, while I do art, I have lots of other interests. When I only do art, I feel lop-sided. If I do some other things, I feel more in balance.

And just in case anyone is curious, here's a short list of my other interests:

• gardening -- I really need to clear off dead brush (for fire protection). Once that is done, I want to plant some fruit trees, maybe a small vegie garden, and a nice flower bed by the patio.
• cooking -- Rather than make my supper a bowl of cereal, I'm going to try to cook balanced meals. It's hard when I'm cooking for just myself and when it's 106 degrees outside, but I do feel better when I spend the time to prepare a nice meal. And if it cools off some, I might even make some jelly or pickles.
• quilting -- While it's hard to think about quilting when it's over 100 outside, I do have 3 large quilts and 2 smaller projects in various stages of completion. I'm not sure what I will do with them when I'm done, but since I do the piecing and quilting all by hand, it will be a long time before I really have to face that question!
• reading -- I'm going to pick out two books -- a fiction and a non-fiction book -- and then read them. (Normally I try to read 4+ books at once and get no where.) The books I'm working on now are The Sophisticate's Primer on Relativity by P.W. Bridgman and Mysterious Cat Stories edited by John Richard Stephens and Kim Smith.
• mathematics -- I like doing math, but I haven't done much for about 10 years now. So, I got out the old calculus book and I'm slowly relearning it. While I can justify this because I might be substitute teaching this fall, the real reason is because I like to do it. And some day I will make my way thru partial differential equations!

Playing Well with Others -- Or Not

Okay, I totally admit it -- I don't play well with others!

Actually, I'm more of the opinion that it's the others who have the problems and not me. But since I have been thrown out of 4 groups online, I do accept the possiblity that I'm the problem. Afterall, how could so many wonderful and generous people get along and I don't seem to be able to??? Makes me laugh!

The latest group was an women's artist group called WWAO. It was really interesting or so I thought at first. Women artists getting together to discuss art, marketing, making art -- all from a woman's perspective. The honeymoon lasted about a month. Then the real nature of the group became apparent. Only a handful of members ever posted. Most of the posts had to do with whining about various things -- some art related and some just general whining. (Hence, my nickname of Whiny Women's Association Online!) Or the posts were links to new art work, so everyone would post how wonderful that piece was, no matter how bad it was. (All art was considered absolutely terrific and would surely sell for big bucks!)

I basically ignored most of these posts. I mean, if I actually told these people what I thought of some of their 'artwork' I would be hung! I know that my opinions would be considered harsh, so I kept them to myself in the name of group harmony. I would post to questions about techniques or websites or ideas for inspiration, and I think I had some very valuable things to contribute.

But then last fall came the 2 weeks of whining about how much a few artists were spending on promoting charity auctions. (It costs $10 plus listing fees to list a charity auction thru eBay.) One lady mentioned that she had spent over $200 in the last month on charity auctions with very few bids. For some reason, this really annoyed me. Partly because her husband is an airline pilot making $150,000+ so $200 is not a major problem to her. Partly because she's complaining that her bad reproductions of her paintings aren't selling for $50-90, which is more than my originals sell for. And partly, because this then brought out everyone else to complain about how much they spent on charity auctions. I finally sent a post and basically said that no one is forced to donate to a charity and that when one gives to a charity, it should be done with no expectations of getting anything back.

(Side note on charities and auctions: very few artists donate to charities without the idea that they will either get free publicity, further commissions, or some benefit beyond helping a charity. Some artists use charity auctions just for the publicity and will donate only 10% to the charity. Thus the charity will spend more on bookkeeping than they will receive in the donation.)

So, I get this email from one of the monitors saying how I had hurt so many people and she had received a number of complaints about my post. Thus, all my posts would need to be approved by her first before they would be sent out to the group. I personally took this as censorship and told her that I would refrain from posting. It was a bit confusing since only weeks before I had been told that this group was different because we were all free to speak our minds.

That was last fall, and I never did post anything further to the group, although I did email a few people privately. Today, I get this form letter saying I'm kicked out for not posting. The choice comes down to this -- have my posts censored or be kicked out.

Well, I can't say that I'm all that broke-up about getting thrown out. Once one eliminated all the whining posts, very few posts had anything helpful in it. Belonging to any group, has benefits and costs. This one was 50-50 as to whether the benefits outweighed the costs. My only complaints are that I'm still receiving their emails (if I'm out, then stop the posts!), and I now have to remove their logo from a number of auctions and eBay store items.

So, be warned -- I don't play well with others!

It's Winds-Day

One thing about living here is that it can get a bit windy at times. And this is one of those times. It started yesterday, kept up all night, and is still windy this morning. Now this is not a gentle breeze, but 15-20 mph with gusts upto 35+ mph. It makes being outside not too enjoyable, or at least that is my excuse for not working on the sprinkler system this morning. At least it's not as bad as it gets sometimes, when my square garbage can goes scooting across the yard!

And it's windy enough on my patio that reading a book there isn't easy. The pages keep flipping plus I keep worrying about the hanging baskets falling. If I take them down and I'm not out there, there's 50% chance that the bunnies will come up on the patio and eat the plants!

So, today is an "inside", which is probably good. I need to get some work done. I have an alpaca portrait to finish, 2 oil portrait demos to do, 2 other oil portraits to do, 1 pencil portrait to start, and whatever I need to do for eBay. And this is not counting a few other commissions which I need to do, but either haven't received the photos or the money. I'm not sure how I got so far behind?!

Anyway, I'm having a couple of problems with portrait commissions right now. First, I'm nervous about doing these oil demos. I found the drawing demo I did to be more difficult than I imagined it would be. It's the starting and stopping that is the problem. Plus the feeling that I'm being watched and I need to live up to people's expectations. The second problem is that I haven't done much in oils for quite a while -- since January. And the final issue is that I'm having decent luck on eBay with my own work (not portraits) and I would like to work on more such work. I'm especially anxious to try some oil paintings on eBay, as I know works on paper sell for less.

But if I get working on them -- working a 3-4 hours per day on this backlog -- I'll get them done fairly soon, so I can do more of my own work. Actually once I get working on them, they won't seem so bad or scary. And if I don't try to finish them off all at once, then I'll still be able to work on some of my other things, like the hummingbird or other still lifes.

So, I had better get to work!

Yep, Still Alive

Yes, I'm still alive. I know it's been a long time since I wrote anything but that doesn't mean I haven't been busy. Unfortunately, I haven't been busy doing art. First, there was the IRS problem, then I was a poll worker for the lastest election, and lastly (and most fun of all) I was playing plumber. With regards to this last item, one of the control valves on our sprinkler system broke off, so we had to turn off the water and dig out the valve. Then we found the pipe had problems too, so we decided to replace most of the system. Lucky for me, hubby was home and helped with the digging, but that meant for an entire week, I did nothing but play in the sand.

So, I'm finally back to doing art. (I spent yesterday packing up a number of items and shipping them, so if you are wondering where your ______ is, it's in the mail!) Today, I actually got out brushes and paint and painted a ruby-throated hummingbird.

I should have done one of our local hummingbirds -- we have 3 common species here -- but I went with the ruby-throated since that's what most of the U.S. has. Besides, I have quite a number of good photos of them to work from. I must say, it was a challenge to do since they are iridescent and that's very tricky in watercolor. But he turned out fine and I hope he finds a nice home.

Tale of Two Chickadees

I've finally come down off my little high from last night. You see, last night I had an auction end for a watercolor painting of a bluebird on handmade paper. Since I had a little bidding war, it went for more than I had expected. Since eBay has been so slow lately, I figured maybe $20, but it went for twice that! Yippeee!!!

Now, I just need to not expect this from every auction. And I also need to try not to dulplicate the painting. (Each painting needs to be done in and for itself -- not as something like this other one.) Neither thing is easy to do, but I'll try.

Anyway, before the bluebird sold, I had started on a chickadee because I like chickadees. Well, I did one and wasn't totally happy with it, so I did another. Both are on handmade paper, but one is waterleaf and the other is sized. (Probably need to explain that.) Here's the two paintings:

This chickadee was done on handmade paper that a local lady makes for me. The paper is unsized, or waterleaf, as it doesn't have any sizing. Sizing prevents the watercolor from soaking into the paper. Since this is unsized, the watercolor soaks in and the paper buckles considerably. It will need to be flattened before I can sell it. The watercolor has a soft look as hard edges are almost impossible. Hence, the soft breast feathers are easy, but the edges on the tail are tricky to do.

This chickadee, on the other hand, was done on handmade paper which had been sized. The paper is from India and is definitely handmade as the texture is uneven and the edges are deckled. The watercolor sits on top of the paper -- doesn't soak in -- so edges are crisp. In fact, I had a difficult time getting the breast to look soft like a puffy chickadee. The pine needles were a snap, however. The other problem was to get the black to be black (or any darks very dark). The sizing prevents the paint from soaking in so a damp brush can be used to 'erase' minor mistakes, but this also means that putting a new layer over another layer can 'erase' the bottom layer too.

Anyway, this was an interesting experiment. I tend to adapt my working habits to the characteristics of the paper I use, but I didn't realize how different these two papers were until I did two similar paintings one after another. Personally, I like the unsized paper better, because of the softness.

As a footnote, I took the plunge and added some blue sky to the first chickadee painting. And then added the tiny branch. And suddenly it looked a whole lot better! Now I just have to figure out which one to list on eBay, because I don't want to list both at once. I don't want to flood the chickadee painting market!

It's a Holiday?!

Yes, today is Memorial Day. For most people that means a day off, maybe a picnic, and a time to relax. For many working artists (as opposed to the wannabe artists), this is not a day off and may actual be a big work day.

Concerning this latter point, since a holiday weekend means that many are off work and are looking for something to do, there's often art shows on these weekends. Promoters figure that people will come and wander around and buy art. In my experience, it doesn't really work like that. Sure there will be a lot of people walking thru an art show, especially if it's free, but that doesn't mean they will buy art. They may buy a few cards, or pick up a business card, but buy a $400 painting? Usually not. The under $20 impulse buy, yes. The over $100 nice art, no. While a holiday weekend show looks good on paper, it's dubious in return, especially for a fine artist.

Also holiday weekends create a 'problem' with eBay. The big question is do you list items that either end or begin on a holiday or holiday weekend. One camp says no because there are less people looking -- they are out with the family, etc. The other camp says yes because there are a lot of people not going anywhere who will have more time on their hans and so will shop on eBay. I'm not sure which is right, although I did move my auctions back a day so that none would end yesterday. I do have one ending today, but I have specific buyers in mind, who check my auctions regularly, so they knew from last week it would end today. (Translation: a botanical watercolor probably will not be a impulse buy even on eBay!)

As for me, on this holiday, I'll be doing my normal thing. I had contemplated driving into LA to a show I want to see, but with gas at $3.39/gal, I'll skip it. So, I'll be working. I have 2 pet sketches to finish and a rose to paint, plus I really need to update my website. The only difference will be no checks in the mail today! (I'd prefer them to be incoming rather than outgoing.)

A Return to Sculpture

Oops, it's been a few days since I last wrote. While I have blogging scheduled for the morning, before I get to work, I just don't seem to have time for it then. Okay, so part of the problem is that I haven't been getting up early so that I can get everything done and still have time to write this. The other problem is that I've been a bit whiny and I have to whine all the time in my blog.

So, since I last wrote, I finished 2 small paintings, started work on a large portrait commission, and ordered some wood.

Wood?! Yep, I got looking around on eBay and noticed there were hardly any realistic wood sculpture. I don't know if there's a market for it or not, or if the market doesn't pay very well, but I'm giving it a try. I'm not going to quit doing paintings and drawings, but the sculpting will be in addition to everything else. I'll probably only finish 3-5 pieces a year.

The other reason I'm returning to sculpting is that I like doing it. I stopped doing it because I never was able to sell it in local art shows. And I know this isn't a great excuse, but there is a limit on hom many pieces I can store! But everytime I walked by my carving tools, or had to move a chunk of marble to get to something else, something inside me cried. I miss the challenge of working in 3-D.

So, I'll be spending my weekends, and maybe an hour here and there during the week, working on a sculpture. Most of them will be small -- because the wood I have is small and because shipping large pieces is a nightmare. I have a number of interesting ideas and can hardly wait for the wood to arrive.

This may be the thing I need to pick up my spirits some. While I'm selling things okay on eBay, and have a few commissions waiting for me, I've felt somewhere between an art-prostitute and a waster of supplies. My recent bouquet series -- such as the roses in a vase -- have really left me feeling like I want to put more expression and meaning into my work. The problem with both botanical watercolors and portraits is that neither should have the artist's expression in them. Their whole point is an accurate rendering of what is there -- not what I want to be there. The bouquets have allowed me more expression. I'm hoping the sculptures will really be a great way to express my ideas and feelings.

And now, off to sharpen some gouges!

A New Routine

Well, I've decided that I need a new daily routine because too many non-art-making things have crept into my art-making time. Lately I've noticed that I have been doing tasks like the dishes or answering emails during the day. Since it is hard to produce art under artificial light, I need to do my art while there is daylight. So, I need to move these non-art tasks to either earlier or later in the day.

Here's my new schedule:

• 6-8am: get up, do tai chi, feed the cats and birds, eat breakfast, drink my coffee, write blog
• 8-11am: do art, working mainly on portraits
• 11am-1pm: eat lunch, make phone calls, errands into town
• 1-5pm: do more art, working mainly on eBay items and show pieces
• 5-7pm: fix supper, feed cats, do dishes, answer emails, clean up yard
• 7-8 or 9pm: review math
• 8/9-11pm: relax by watching tv, reading, or quilting

This looks do-able, unlike many schedules I tend to make. I have a tendency to believe I'm SuperWoman and can do a incredible amount of stuff all at once. I usually can do it for about 3 or 4 days and then I crash and take 4 or 5 days off, trying to recover. But I'm hoping that this one is more realistic.

Now the problem is 'surprises'. For example, some weeks ago, my web site was down so I transferred many of my auction photos over to a photo site. Then yesterday, I noticed that many of my auction and store items didn't have photos because this alternative site was down. Well, since it makes no sense to run art auctions without pictures, I had to revise a number of auctions by changing the sources for my photos back to my web site. So, when things like this happen, my entire schedule is thrown out the window!

Well, I'll see how this schedule works for a couple of weeks, if it makes it that long. I really want to get more art done, both for eBay and for shows, yet I don't want to give up things like playing with my cats. I'm hoping this new plan will give me both.

And now I see that I need to get moving since I still have to have breakfast and coffee, feed the cat herd, and answer a couple of emails. Only 43 minutes to go before I'm late on the first day of my new schedule!!!

Fences and the Law

Just when I thought I had complained about everything my neighbors do, something new pops up which led to 'interesting' discussions with the county. The one neighbor, which is a lady with two adult sons living at home, hasn't caused much problems at all, until 2 days ago.

Here's what happened. I went to get the mail and noticed 4 deep motorcycle tracks across my driveway and property. I tracked them (not difficult in sand) to the neighbors. Their grandmother, who was passing by, told me it was friends of the two boys who road across my land, but she would have a word with the mother to ask their friends not ride on my land. I don't know if this will do the trick or not.

So, I called the sheriff's office to ask what I can legally do or what I need to do to have these bikers arrested for trespassing. I need either still photos of them on my land or a video tape. Well, since this isn't a daily occurance, I don't know how I could get either. My eyewitness account won't be accepted. (Remember that if you as a pedestrian are involved in a hit-and-run -- you need photos!!!) The sheriff's clerk suggested I talk to code enforcement about increased patrols. (And what are the chances of a sheriff being around when they ride across my land? Besides, I haven't seen a patrol for at least 2 years!)

If the law won't help, then building a fence may be my only option. Okay, I toyed with the ideas of homemade spike strips or concealed barbed wire, but hubby said something about liability and prison. (I protect my property from trespassers and I go to jail -- why doesn't this make sense to me?!) So, a fence. A simple split rail fence will keep the bikers out and let the bunnies come and go. It's also cheap and something I can do myself.

Then I made a fatal error -- I called the county to ask how far from the road I had to place this theoretical fence. The first lady told me I could put it on my property line, which made sense for the north and south sides (there's other land parcels there), but since there are roads on the east and west side and I presume my property line is in the center of the road, well it didn't make sense. She then transferred me to her supervisor, who was rude, snippy, and "not nice". The final answer is, I can put a 4 foot high fence 44 feet from the east property line and a 6 foot high fence 33 feet from the north, west, and south property lines.

Now, let's think about this. There's a road on the east and west, so why is the east side shorter and further away? And what the is this 33' or 44' stuff? Are they planning on putting a boulevard with turn lanes in? I live in the desert, in the middle of nothing. (The home owners association here does a yard sale every six months so they can pay someone to grade our roads, since the county doesn't.) Besides, we are talking about a fence, not a house or permanent structure. If they widen the dirty road, I'll move the fence, as will most of the homes owners on this road.

And what about all those 6' high chain-link fences that are 6' from the road? And where their neighbor's fence ties into the fence post, so there's no 66' wide space between the fences? Aren't these illegal?

Well, I was told that I could apply for a variance if I wanted a fence closer to the property lines, but to do that I would need my property surveyed. So, since I was all upset already, I called a surveying office. To get my 5 acres surveyed, it would cost about $2000-3000.

The bottomline is this: I can either build a legal fence for about $3500, or I can do what everyone else does and build a fence on my property line for about $500. Right now, I'm hoping the grandmother solved the problem because I'm not in any mood to dig fence post holes when it's 100 degrees outside!!!

The New Neighbors

About a week or so ago, new people moved into the house behind mine. Since this area has become a real estate hotspot -- prices are still affordable by California standards -- in the last 2 years, I have had 5 other new neighbors. Now since this is the desert and California, people will wave when they are in their cars but that's it. I have not met any of these new neighbors and with at least one, I'd rather not meet them. (I'll get back to them later.)

So, this weekend, the bulldozer arrived at my newest neighbors' house. Even before they got everything unpacked (boxes still in front of the house), they hired a bulldozer for the weekend to scrape allthe vegetation off their 5 acres. For 2 days, they scraped and dozed their land. With the exception of 3 or 4 Joshua trees, which are a protected species, they removed all plant life. Large clumps of yuccas. Magnificient clumps of cactus. Interesting desert wildflowers. All gone. Piled into large mounds of debris. Nothing left but dirt.

This is enough to make me cry. I love this desert. There are literally hundreds of plant species here, over 10 lizard/reptile species, dozens of bird species, plus an occassional bobcat. Except right around the houses, basically the desert was in pristine condition.

See, I moved here from Iowa. In Iowa, there was less than 1/2 of 1% of the native prairies still intact. A number of conservation groups were spending thousands of dollars to maintain and restore these little islands of nature land. Here, there's intact ecosystems right outside my front door. All one has to do is not intentionally destroy it and it will remain a functioning ecosystem.

Unless of course, everyone scrapes their land. Of the 5 new neighbors, 3 have scraped their yards. I really would like to know why. Are they afraid of the wildlife? Of wildfires? Do they understand how dusty it will be when the winds blow? Or muddy when it rains? Why not move into town if you want dirt? Why buy a house in the country only to destroy the nature habitat?

I actually know why one neighbor scraped his land -- his personal dirt track for his offroad vehicles. It's just so wonderful to try to relax on my patio with the dust and noise of his 4-wheel drive truck zooming around. I would like to point out to him that if he drove it 10 miles from here, he would have literally 100s of acres to race around. Ooops, I guess he can't because his truck, his motorcycle, and his jeep have no license plates. I must admit, he hasn't done much zooming around lately -- ever since another neighbor called the sheriff on him. (The law does frown on loud vehicles zooming around at 1am!)

Anyway, back to my newest neighbors, after they were done scraping, I went outside to water trees. Then I heard gun shots. I looked around and say a young kid shooting a rifle on my property. I approached him and told him to stop shooting on my land. He explained he was only hunting rabbits and apologized. Hey, people, if you didn't scrape your property bare, your son wouldn't have to trespass on my land to shoot rabbits!

I try to be understanding -- not everyone shares my love of wildlife and plants -- but it still makes me sad. I had planned on working on an alpaca portrait this weekend, but I couldn't concentrate with the sound of the destruction next door. I just hope I don't get any more new neighbors for a long time!

A Lazy Saturday

Well, I just got back from a trip into town. I went in to see a cat show and to check out if I could sell cat art at cat shows. The answer is no. Just like horse and alpaca shows, most of the people who go to animal shows are there to show there animals and aren't interested in buying non-show stuff. Since this was a small show, there was much traffic from the general public, so there'd be little chance of selling to the public either. Maybe at a larger show, there'd be enough of a general public to make it worth while, but then the booth fee would be a lot higher. So, just for the record, animal shows really aren't a good venue to sell art.

Before going into town today, I did manage to scan in a couple of recently finished pieces. This first one is the boxer dog in watercolor on handmade paper. I think he looks cute!

I really don't know how many more of these works on handmade paper I'll be doing. I seem to have annoyed the lady that makes the paper for me. I told her that I needed off-white, as in oatmeal colored paper, and also paper about the color of brown paper bags. I also told her that the colors didn't need to be exact and that I need a fairly smooth surface. For a couple of batches, this worked fine. Now lately, she demanding that I do swatches of exactly the color I need, and that she thought I wanted a rough surface, and that I need to do this or that, etc. So, it's looking like I may be teaching myself to make paper. It's not hard -- I just need another blender -- but it's one of those things I'd rather pay someone else to do for me.

Anyway, the other piece is another watercolor/pastel bouquet, this one of sunflowers in an old red coffee pot. I really like the combination of watercolor and pastel as the watercolor has transparent areas and the pastel is clearly opaque. (You really can't see that in the picture, so you'll have to take my word for it.)

Well, I suppose I should get to work. I have one large alpaca portrait, 2 pencil portraits, 3 oil portraits, and 3 small sketches to do, plus what I want to do for eBay and shows. One of these days I would like to be caught up!

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!

Montrose Report

Well, I survived the one-day show at Montrose this last weekend. Yes, survived. For people who have never done an art show, 'survived' is the correct term because your body hurts for at least a day or two afterwards.

Anyway, the show had it's good points and it's bad.

First the good. There was a pretty good crowd. The area has a very knowledgeable public when it comes to the arts. I got a lot of compliments. And the artists next to me were nice and friendly.

The bad parts now. I only sold a couple of small items (which is better than not selling anything). I got a rude surprise because there was a flower garden where I was suppose to set up my display.

Perhaps the most annoying part of the weekend was one artist's work. As you may have picked up on from reading this blog, I hate lying. This artist was displaying "original oil paintings" according to her sign along with some giclees (reproductions) of her work. Well, I took one look at her painting and just about laughed outloud -- at least until I noticed her prices. A 18x24 was listed at $4500! What she was doing was taking a nice photo of a scene, having the photo printed onto canvas which she then stretched, and then adding a few highlights here and there. How do I know this? Every single leaf in a tree was clearly "painted" as was every single tiny twig. Every single on in sharp detail. EVERY single one. Also, there is a look to photography which can't be reproduced by painting, no matter the skill of the artist. Yesterday, I looked up her website and she has some portraits which weren't done with a photograph 'underpainting' and they didn't look anything like her landscapes. But perhaps the most telling thing is that she has a BFA with an emphasis in photography and has worked for years doing advertising layouts. Now, I will admit that her work is nice and very impressive to the uninitiated, but her calling these "original oil paintings" is nothing more than a bold-faced lie. They are mixed media, or embellished photos, but not an oil painting. And she had no problem lying to potential buyers. It's disgusting!!!

Ah, that felt good. (I've been muttering about this yesterday and today, so it's nice to have it off my chest.)

Yep -- Still Alive

To those who have emailed me, yes, I'm still alive. I've been in one of my blue moods and I've also been doing a number of things all at once. Here's what I've been up to:

First, my website has been done as the host lost a server. It took a few days for the host to get things partially up and working. I had to upload my website (800+ files), and that restored the photos I was using for auctions and the pages themselves, but because I use FrontPage to create my site, I had to wait a few more days for the navigation structure to come online. In the meantime, one could navigate my site, but one had to use the back button on the browser to go back. Finally, the FrontPage extensions were installed and I had to upload part of my site again, but then the navigation bars were there. While there was no real harm done, it was a bit annoying since I was running auctions and I had contacted some decorators about my botanicals!

Second, I knit part-time for a lady and she has now come up with a hundred different things for me to do -- NOW!!! Nothing from her for months -- since last August -- and now a whole lot of things to do. I've also been negotiating with another lady for custom knitting but despite all her "I'll call you soon", nothing from her so far.

Third, Frankie, my Indian ringneck parakeet, has been ''off" lately. His poops were strange, with a bit of blood. He was sitting around fluffy. He didn't seem himself. Nasty ideas of kidney infections popped into my head. The other day, I noticed a bulge in his bottom and then things fell into place. Frankie was having an egg! (I now have to relearn tosay 'she' when referring to Frankie.) Immediately I got worried about him-now-her being egg-bound. Unfortunately, Frankie is one of my rescue birds and the stress of taking her out of her cage and taking her to a vet over an hour away, probably would kill her. Not to mention the moment one walks into an avian vet office it's $65. (Eggbinding treatment can easily top $1000!) So, I've been fretting and stewing about all this. Well, Wednesday, from 4:30-5:00 pm, we had an egg! She's resting now, and she seems to be having huge poops, so I'm wondering is egg #2 is on it's way. I hope not as egg laying can be very demanding on a bird (and owner). But she's eating, screaming a bit, and seems a whole lot happier to have that huge thing out of her!!!

Fourth, I'm trying to finish up a commission by this coming Monday. I'm about 3/4ths done with it and it's coming out fine, but now with the next item, I'm really cutting it close.

Fifth, tomorrow, Saturday, I do a show in Montrose. It's a one-day show, so I have to drive 2 hours, set up, sit there and demonstrate something from 9-4, pack up, and then drive home. It makes for a long day. Luckily hubby will be home and go with me so that helps some. (Unfortunately, the d-o-g will also be going with us, so I'm not sure how helpful hubby will be.) I did a show in Montrose last year and it was a pretty nice little show. So, I'm trying it again. And this time, I sent out postcard invitations to local decorators, so maybe they will come and make my trip worth it.

And finally, I have been looking into either substitute teaching or getting my teaching certificate and teach fulltime. I'm not happy with my sales this year and thanks to some bad luck with hubby's truck (a new week, a new alternator), we are having some cash flow problems. So, I'm thinking of getting a part-time job and the substitute teaching seems pretty ideal. It pays well, I only have to pass a background check (no classes to take), and I can work as little or as much as I want. Admittedly, I will be the 'sub' and I do remember how i tormented them when I was in junior high. Anyway, just thinking of giving up part of my art time has really upset. I like my life as a full-time artist, and getting even a part-time job feels like I'm giving up. BUT I'm not giving up on doing art and I still believe that I have the skills and vision it takes to make a living at art. Sometimes reality just isn't nice!

So, wish me luck tomorrow and go to my website and buy lots of portrait commissions!

Honesty, Artists, and the Buying Public

The other day, I spent some time looking around eBay at my 'competition'. I didn't learn much that would help me get out of the slow-sales on eBay slump I'm in, but I did see quite a number of listings that were misleading to one degree or another.

Here's several examples:

• The title said "original oil painting" but the description, in line 143(!) said it was a print.
• A 'hand painted' portrait which is actually done by printing a photo onto canvas and then adding a few details with a brush. (The lister forgot to remove the page number from the magazine that the photo was taken from.)
• A woodblock print which was available in several sizes, so what one was actually buying was a print of a print.
• An artist who listed California as his location, but then the artwork would be shipped from Singapore.
• The title said, "original, genuine marble sculpture", which wold imply a one of a kind piece, but you could buy up to 10 copies of it since it was actually made out of bonded marble dust which had been poured into a mold.

So why do artists do this? It comes down to money. One of the problems with eBay is that most buyers want everything for $19.95 or less. But think about it -- a canvas that's 16x20 will cost $12 wholesale in large lots, there's paints and brushes, and then the time to paint it. If the artist is to make any money, then the key is to do the work in the fastest amount of time. So, if he can do one good painting, take a photo of it, have the photo printed onto other canvases, he's cut his time for each saleable canvas in half or fourths or how ever many copies he has printed.

I don't have too much of an issue with this (okay, I do, but we'll talk about it some other day), but what really annoys me is these people try to hide what they are doing from their buyers. In the process, it ruins the whole thing for all artists. For example, if Sally buys a painting that was listed as an 'original' in the title and then discovers is a print-on-canvas, she will be upset. And she will probably never buy another piece of art online again. (I can't blame her!)

Call me old fashioned, but I believe that my word is my bond. I try to make my descriptions as clear as I can. I would rather have a buyer email me after they get the item and say how pleasantly surprised they were, rather than to complain I had misled them.

Honesty Among Artists

Sorry for not writing, but hubby was home for the week and we were having way too much fun working on his truck. He got all ready to go on Thursday, when he tried to start his truck and it wouldn't start. So, Friday we spent all day getting a new started (150+ miles to get it) and the 12-pt socket set to remove 2 bolts that held the starter on. (Yes, 12-pt sockets, not the normal hex head sockets.) We got it put on this morning and he's on his way. Overall, we saved about $200, but I'm not sure my fingernails will ever get clean.

Anyway, one of the things we were talking about while he was home has to do with honesty and artists. Basically one can't trust a lot of what artists say, especially when it comes to business. I know, most people like to feel successful and important, so there's a tendency for exaggeration. In artists, this is raised to an artform! And I'm sick of it!!!

Here's a typical example:

One artist writes on an artist message board that she is having problems with selling tasteful nudes on eBay. She's asking for advice on how to increase her sales. A few artists reply with some simple suggestions. And then Bill (not his real name) replies that he has no problem selling nudes on eBay, has sold 18 in the last 2 weeks, most of his sell for 4-5 times the initial listing price, and they normally get 3-5 bids each. Now this sounds fantastic and, since I have some nudes from years ago, I start looking at his listings to see what he is doing right. Then I look at his completed auctions for the last 30 days. In the last 3 weeks, he has sold 11 (not 18), most sold for $9.95 which was their initial bid price (not 4-5 times), and only 3 got more than 1 bid (none got more than 3). So, what he wrote to the first artist was not even close to the truth. And what is even more pathetic is that it was so easy to catch Bill in his lies!

While I could just brush this type of behaviour aside as typical of human nature, it really hurts me and all other artists. There are a lot of possible venues to sell my art or ways to advertise, and all these take time and money to do. I personally would like to be able to focus my time and money on those methods that others have found useful. But then the honesty problem pops up. Where can I turn for an honest answer to a serious question? If I ask a legitimate question, can I actually trust the answers I get? A few artists will tell another artist the honest truth (display ads in horse magazines is an expensive waste of money), but these are few and far between. And then one has to sort thru all the lies to find the one truthful reply.

And if one thinks this situation is bad or annoying, tomorrow I'll write about some of the cons artists use to mislead buyers.

Emily's Birthday!!!

(Be warned: This entry has nothing to do with art -- it's about one of my cats.)

Today, 15 April, is Emily's birthday. Yah!!!

Emily is one of my cats. She's a long-haired Persian cross and we adopted her from an animal shelter 16 years ago. And as somewhat fitting her age, she's also known as "The Cranky Old Lady" because she hates my other cats. Even when two of my cats were 5 weeks old, she hissed and spat and acted like they were an imminent threat to her life. So much for maternal instinct!

She and I have been thru a lot. She nearly died from FUS twice, while on special cat food from the vet. This was when she was 3 and 5 years old.

And then she used up a couple more lives when her liver shut down at age 7. She stopped eating and then became jaundiced. I took her to a vet who then said she had fatty liver disease and that I should put her down because it was hopeless. (The vet also suggested that if I didn't want to put her down that I should have her vacinated for several cat diseases.) I told the vet I wasn't going to accept that prognosis. So, I called and took her to 4 more vets -- all with the same diagnosis and prognosis. Finally, I took her to the local university vet hospital where they said there was about a 10% chance of her living, but it would be a good teaching case so they would go ahead and treat her. Treatment included putting a feeding tube in her stomach and instructing me to squirt this special food into it. At that time I had another cat who would eat anything. He absolutely refused to touch this special food, so I had my doubts about it. I tried following their plan, but it wasn't working. Emily continued to lose weight (got down to 4lb 8 oz) and seemed more lethargic. I was desperate. I found a magazine on natural cat care with an ad for a homeopathic vet who did phone consultations. I called him and we started to working together. He had me force feed her by mouth raw turkey and also sent me some homeopathic medicine. After a few days, I saw improvement. I then took her back to the vet school to have the stomach tube removed. At first they refused, but finally after a heated exchange with the director, the tube was removed. One vet said I just killed her. Well, I continued to force feed and after a while (about 2 weeks), she would eat it off my finger. Then off my hand. And finally after about a month, she would eat off a plate.

Today, 9 years after this episode, she's healthy and happy. (Okay, she'd be happier if I sent The Boys to North Dakota, but other than that,...) Her latest bloodwork was perfect. She has no arthritis, no bad teeth, and a magnificent coat. People can't believe she's 16!

But Emily taught me several important things:

1. Cats thrive on a raw meat diet. Since this liver stuff, Emily has had nothing but raw meat (mixed with vitamins and vegies). So much for the idea that raw meat will kill a cat.
2. Many vets are more interested in their ideas and income than in helping the pet. When I took Emily back to the vet school after 6 months, the vet couldn't believe it was Emily, but the moment I said anything about raw meat, she refused to listen to anything and said I was going to kill her. I would have thought the vet would have been interested in what I was feeding her. (Silly me!)
3. Homeopathic medicine does work. I know that it can't rationally work, but after seeing what it did for Emily (and later instances with my boys), I know it works. It's also a lot easier on the animal -- one doesn't need a drug to counteract another drug's side effects.
4. And most importantly, one needs to love those around you while they are still here.

So, today, she's gets a real treat for supper -- grilled salmon! (I'd feed it to her raw, but I'm planning on having the rest of the fish myself.)

From 3-4am

I know, I know -- it's been a few days since I've written an entry but I've been busy. Maybe it's the impending tax deadline (yes, we owe a bunch) or it's the fact that I'm doing more flowers (a comfort zone for me) or maybe it's all the commissions I now have (about 12!), but I've been working a lot more lately. And so, I haven't had a lot of extra time to do this blog, update my website, clean the house, or even read.

Working more does mean I'm getting stuff done. For example, I just finished up 2 nice alpaca and people portraits for a client.

This 11x14 pencil drawing was an interesting challenge to get the overall look right. The boy's jacket was so dark (dark navy blue) that it could dominate the entire drawing. The alpaca was pure white. And the photo was taken outside in bright sun, which is why the boy is squinting. I ended up lightening the jacket a touch and darkening the alpaca a bit. Overall I'm pleased with it, but I do wish the boy had had a more normal expression on his face.

Because of the size of this portrait (16x20), I took a temporary photo of it with my cell phone, so it's not the best photo. (I'll take a good photo of it with my camera before I send it. Now if someone wants to donate a digital camera to me, I'll be grateful!) The main challenge with this portrait was the composition -- all those little alpacas in the background! Not only did the alpacas need to be arranged in a natural manner, their colors had to not compete with the boy and cria he is holding. The other challenge was the size. While 16x20 is wonderful for a portrait which includes the shoulders and hands, it's a bit small for a portrait which includes the entire body. The head is only 3-4 inches high -- tiny details with large chunks of chalk are difficult to get right. As with the first portrait, I do wish the boy wasn't squinting in this one either.

Presently, I'm working on a pair of small portraits (one done, one to go), and then there's only be about 10 left. I really don't understand where all these commissions came from all of a sudden, but it's nice to have work to do.

The one problem is that I need to keep doing florals and botanicals for eBay and the Montrose Art Walk. And I also want to do some new relief prints. Maybe I could do them from 3-4 am? (Why waste that time just sleep?!)

Spring Flowers

Things are going well and not so well. A lot depends on what I'm talking about.

First the bad. I still haven't heard the bad news from the account about our taxes. Hubby has a cold and as a truck driver, this means he keeps driving, so I'm worried about him. Things are beyond slow on eBay -- nobody even looking! And we are suppose to get rain tomorrow and I haven't fixed the couple of shingles on my roof from the last round of storms.

On the other hand, the artwork is going well. I've been working on a portrait of a young boy and some alpacas and it's coming out well. I finished another pastel bouquet, like the roses, but of carnations. I made wonderful progress on a botanical watercolor of black-eyed susans. And tomorrow I start on an oil painting of a hummingbird.

Actually, my latest plan is working well. The plan is to start with botanical watercolors and then slowly spread out to other things, such as still lifes and animal art. (Botanical watercolors are my comfort paintings -- I know I can do them well, so they are what I revert to when I'm anxious about stuff.) The idea is to do sets of each, so right now I'm working on:

• a set of 12 botanical watercolors of garden perennials
• a set of 6 pastel/watercolor works of bouquets
• a set of 5 (or 6) small oil paintings of hummingbirds and flowers

As you will notice, they all involve flowers. The reasoning behind this is that people find my jumping from one thing to another upsetting, or so the theory goes. I have no idea whether this is true or not, but it's worth a shot. It does help me organize my thoughts and it's somewhat comforting for me to know exactly what I will be doing today, tomorrow, and even next week. Besides, all these sets will work just fine for my upcoming shows in Montrose. (Last year, they really liked the flowers, so ...)

Now, I just have to figure out how to get people to actually buy my artwork!

eBay Update

Well, yesterday was interesting. I'm not sure that's exactly the word, but it'll have to do since the coffee is still brewing.

I had one item on eBay end -- a botanical watercolor of an iris. It really was stunning. I listed it for $40 and guess what? One bid, so it went for $40. Now I understand botanical watercolors aren't a hot property (thanks to all the 'prints' out there), but still... What I don't understand is there 4 people watching it. The guy that won it wasn't one of the 4. So, what happened to the these 4 people who took the steps to add it to their watchlists? I don't understand it -- if I put something on my watchlist, I either bid on it or I remove it.

I have another botanical watercolor up, a daylily, and it's getting very few views. I did put it up for 10 days, so it's got time to attract viewers. Fingers crossed on this one.

And finally, I did put up the roses in a vase yesterday. I settled on $62.50 -- $10 per hour plus $2.50 for the paper and pastel. (Sure, I know exactly how much pastel I use on each piece. And the Easter bunny will be bringing me a BMW.) I thought about going higher, but I decided I would rather sell it than not. The good news is that someone is already watching it, but as with the iris, I'm not sure that's a positive sign or not. If anyone wants to bid on it, here's the link:

Roses in Vase Auction

Remember, bid early, bid often!

Pricing on eBay

And now, I'm facing one of my favorite dilemmas -- how to price artwork on eBay. I have enough of a problem to price it for shows and galleries, but eBay is a whole different problem. Put it too high, and I waste the listing fee. Put it too low, and I get mad because it went for so little. It's a real headache.

Maybe if I talk it out, I'll figure it out?! It's worth a shot.

Okay, here's the piece I want to list:



It's pastel and watercolor, 12x16 inches,on watercolor paper. There's lots of neat textures and I think it looks fine. (And it really should look terrific matted and framed.) It is a bit different from the traditional botanical watercolors I have on auction at the moment, but I plan on doing two series of paintings at once -- and this is the first of the second series.

Anyway, it took me 3 days of work, off and on, to do. I have no idea how many hours that would be, because I was working on other things as this one dried between layers, but I would guess 6 hours minimum. The paper is about $1.50 per sheet. In a gallery, I'd easily put a $300 price on it (and I'd get $150 of it), but we are talking eBay here.

So, one can price things on a per hour rate plus cost. 6 hours at $15 per hour plus the paper comes to $91.50. At $10/hr it's $61.50. (Hey, I can go pick lettuce in a field at that rate!) And an alternative way to price things would be to compared it to other sold pieces on eBay. First, there's few pastels on eBay. And second, the prices are all over the place -- $10 to $127.53.

Part of the problem is that eBay isn't a hot marketplace anymore. Maybe it's the economy or maybe it's everyone has all the stuff they need, but eBay is slow. It used to be that one could list something very cheap (like $24.95) and then rely on multiple bids to get it up in the $70's. Now only the big names on eBay can do this anymore as most auctions end with only one or two bids, if that. So, the opening price must be fairly realistic because one can't count on a bidding war to drive the prices up. (Or put it really cheap and hope that it goes high, but be willing to part with it for cheap.)

But if one puts the opening price at a realistic price, like $100, there's a good chance (about 90% I'd guess), that this piece wouldn't sell. People want a bargain. They don't seem to understand that artists have bills to pay too and we can't afford to give our work away. Anyway, at $100, I'd probably still have the piece and $2-3 worth of eBay fees. (And that's if I don't upgrade the listing to 'featured' for $20 more.)

Throw into this mix the problem I created for myself. I only list things once at auction and then it goes to my store. This is because I've seen artists list the same pieces over and over again, usually for less and less money, so if I was a bidder, I'd just wait until it was relisted for less. So, I have one shot at auction to sell this piece before it moves into my store. And while my store is doing okay, it's still 50-50 that this piece will be sold there as I'll probably offer it for $150-200 there.

So, what to price this piece at? Would it sell at $60? at $90? Or would it be better to list it at $45 and hope I get multiple bids? I still don't know!

And now I have a really bad headache!!!