Sammy, 1994-2007

Sammy, my beloved tuxedo cat, died on 21 Apr in my arms. As my last post indicated, we were winning the battle against his skin cancer. Unfortunately, his kidneys could not take the strain and they gave out. Thankfully, the end came quickly (about 24 hours from okay to dead) and he was not in pain at any point.

I adopted Sammy from an animal rescue. He had been turned in to them at about age 8 and had been there for 2 years, so he was about 10 when I took him home. I had him for 2 1/2 years and in that time he blossomed into a marvelous cat. When he came home with me, he weighed 20+ pounds, his coat was a dull grey with dandruff, and he didn't like being held. Worst of all, his weight kept him from being a cat. He couldn't walk more than 20 feet without a rest. He couldn't sleep on his side because he couldn't breath. And he couldn't stretch because his back was so sore. Well, after a month of convincing him that raw meat was actually edible, he lost weight, his coat became glossy, and he could do all kinds of cat things!

Then after a few more months, he started to truly trust me and became a love sponge. He learned that hugs were fun, a warm lap was better than even the sofa, and being groomed was pretty darn good! To say he returned my love for him is an understatement -- he returned a whole lot more!

I have a lot of good memories of him, which I will cherish. My top 5 are:

1. He wagged his tail like a dog. Rarely would he lift his tail above his back, but instead he held his tail low and when he was happy or expecting a treat, he would wagged it slowly back and forth just like a dog. I've never seen another cat do this on such a consistent basis.
2. He used to "help" me cut up the meat for his food. Whenever I would be standing at the kitchen counter, cutting up meat, he would come and sit next to my feet. Then he started reaching up to the edge of the counter. Then he found if he bumped my hand with his paw, I might drop a piece, accidentally of course. It was a fun game we would play.
3. He was a great snuggler. If I would take a break from painting and go lay down on the sofa for a nap, he would appear and lay on top of me. If I let him into the bedroom at night, he would lay right next to me, under the covers. And anytime he heard me get out a DVD, he was ready to snuggle some more. All this from a cat who originally wouldn't let me hold him or pet him more than once.
4. He loved scratching his back on the floor. Once he lost the extra weight, he discovered that he could roll over onto his back and squiggle across the floor, thus scratching his back. It was also a good laugh to see this large (he was 13lbs), distinguished (tuxedo cats look so formal) cat acting so silly!
5. He used to like me to chase him around and then would hide in the shower. Again, once he lost weight, he became very playful. Sometimes he would follow me to the garage door and wait for me to come back in. When I did, I would reach down to pet him and he would take off running. I, of course, would follow him. His favorite 'hiding' place was the shower. (Black cat in a white tile shower stall -- not the best of hiding places!) What was truly funny was when he would do this right after I had taken a shower. Then he would rocket out of the bathroom, almost knocking me over sometimes, and get to living room to clean himself off! (Sammy wasn't a big water fan!)

I could go on and on about this special cat. He never complained (unless his dinner was late), always was there to give me a hug, and stole my heart. He was truly a wonderful friend who taught me, among many things, that older kitties have a whole lot of love to give.

Sammy, my dear friend, you will be missed beyond words.

Sammy, Art, and Chaos

I thought I should post an update on Sammy and to let everyone know I'm still alive.

As for Sammy, the new herbal remedies seem to be working. That's good and bad. The good part is the tumors are shrinking and he's feeling a bit better. I'm even beginning to move from hoping this will work to expecting it to work. I'm not sure that's a good idea because he has a long recovery ahead of him, but at least I think the cancer is on it's way out. He still has a number of small and medium tumors, but at least the one in his mouth is now 1/2 the size it was.

The bad part of all this is the damage the cancer has done to his jaw and neck area. I won't go into details, but it's not pretty. This area will never be normal but it should be functional. He stopped eating on his own last weekend, so I've been feeding him with a syringe, but he can eat cat treats on his own. It's just the tumor in his mouth and on his throat has made him hesitant to eat enough to keep him going, hence the forced feeding. I do feel bad about doing it, and if the herbs weren't shrinking the tumors, I wouldn't force feed him -- it's not something I enjoy. But he his acting better and barring complications, he should start healing soon.

Now, all this chaos has meant I haven't done any artwork for a while. Nor have I listed anything on eBay. Nor have I worked on my website. I must have very limited capacity as I can only concentrate on Sammy. I know some artists claim to thrive on chaos and do their best work when their lives are a mess. Maybe they can, but I can't. This doesn't mean that I want to live a boring life -- doing the same thing day after day. No, I like a bit of chaos to spice my life up. I just don't want chaos to be the dominant theme of the month!

Anyway, I am hoping that I'll get back to work tomorrow. (I should be able to get a bit done between feedings and medication.) It won't be easy getting back into doing art after almost a month off, but I do have some paintings that I really want to do, so that's where I'll start. And maybe by the first of May, I'll get back to listing on eBay. And updating my website. And emailing clients. And.... well, all the other art business stuff I have to do. But I need to get working on the art first, before moving onto other things.

Retooling my Life

I just thought I should check in and let people know that I'm still alive.

So is Sammy, my cat. He's getting his new herbal medicine every 3-4 hours day and night which means I'm exhausted. I don't know how he's doing because it's too soon, but I have my fingers crossed.

One nice thing about taking this time off from doing paintings for eBay is that I've been able to see things better. Fact of the matter is I hate my life. I hate doing quick paintings for eBay just to have things up daily -- there's no time to plan, craft and carefully painting a painting. I hate doing paintings without meaning -- there's no time to put 'soul' into a piece if one is suppose to do a painting a day. I hate having no time to doing anything else except thing about what's next for eBay -- there's little time to take care of my fruit trees, cook nice meals, or just relax. And I hate selling my art for ridiculously low prices -- one recenly sold piece netted me $2/hr.

So, thanks to Sammy, I quit. And I'm rebuilding my life into something I can enjoy and live with. This means I have lots of flowers planted outside and I eat most of my meals outside. This means I'll be doing larger paintings that may take me 3-6 days to complete, plus additional time to do the prep work. And this means that these larger pieces will have larger prices. While I still will be doing some smaller pieces, most will be larger. And I'll be only be listing 2-3 pieces a week -- 1-2 larger ones and then smaller ones.

And now, it's time for a nap.

Bad News about Sammy

I really don't feel like writing much, but I also feel guilty about not writing. Things haven't been going too well here.

As I wrote some time ago, my cat Sammy had a small growth removed. Well, it came back and spread. It spread to the inside of his mouth, among other areas. Figuring out what he can and cannot eat has been a challenge. My vet, a homeopath, has no more medicines to try on him, so I'm on my own. For the last week or so, I've been using creosote tea on his tumors. This has slowed their growth and spread down and helped make him more comfortable. (He isn't sitting around looking miserable with his tongue hanging out since I started using it.) The problem is the tumors in his mouth -- how does one teach a cat to gargle with a nasty tasting herb tea? There's a couple of other herbs to try but I'm worried about running out of time.

Unless one of these herbs works, there will come a time where I have to choose between euthanizing him or putting in a feeding tube to give him one more chance. Right now, he's active (as much as he ever was), he's interested in eating even though it's painful, and he seems like he wants to live. But if these things change, then I have a decision to make. I'm not thrilled with making this decision alone, as hubby will probably be on the road.

Needless to say, I haven't had much energy left to make art, or list things on eBay, or do anything else. And my attitude is bad as I'm tired of people saying stupid things, when they even bother to talk to me. (It's amazing how people stop talking to you when you have a dying cat!) I'll get thru this somehow and I'll get back to doing art. But there will be changes -- no more daily listing on eBay, no more 'giving' my work away, more important/personal art, and more time for me.

So, if I don't write anything for another 2 weeks, you can guess as to what happened. Maybe you'll be wrong and the 'voodoo' herbs will work. I hope so.

Groan and Whine!

Today was just not a good day. I was busy doing stuff most of today, but I didn't get much done. And I really didn't feel like doing anything about that! I guess I do need to take a day or so off and I should have taken today off instead of half doing today.

My big accomplishment is listing my artcard for today:

This the orchid Lemboglossum cordatum. It was done in oil on 100% rag matboard. I really like the way it came out. And it was relatively quick to do. (Go bid! Like that sales pitch?!)

In a number of groups, artists are talking about how art cards are great for marketing and how some people actually are powersellers with just art cards. Others are talking about a new gimmick, OSWOA -- Original Small Works Of Art. (By the way, it's a trademarked term, so you have to belong to the group to use it.) This is art that's original and 4x6 inches, with the idea they can be sent as postcards or put in a photo album. Supposedly this is another great marketing tool.

Well, I suppose both formats are useful in introducing your work to new clients. So I'm toying with the idea of doing some of each on a regular basis. Maybe one each a week? They are a lot of work for little return, although I'm seeing more and more starting at higher prices. (And more and more of thee not ending with bids!) Still, I'd like to expand my active client basis so it may be the price I have to pay.

March Madness

Yep, this is the time of March madness. But in my case it has nothing to do with basketball. It has to do with all the whackos out there in cyberland!!!

Here's a short list from this week only:

• someone wants me to end an auction early so they can buy the piece for half the auction price


• I join a printmaking group and then am thrown out of another group because the latter group says you can't be in the former even though the group leader of the latter is in the former so she can monitor who's in both and throw people out


• in one eBay group I'm accused of being abusive because I quoted what one person said and then asked a question based on her own words


• a person offers me $15 for a $250 painting I have in my eBay store


• I emailed a website asking for the shipping on an item (it's overweight, so there's extra postage) and get no reply until Friday when I get a notice from them that my account is past due. Huh? I never, ever ordered anything from this company and it doesn't look like I will.

Maybe last week was National Whacko Week and no one ever told me! I don't know. But it really makes me suspicious when I do get emails with offers from legitimate people. I then to treat them like they are a whacko too, which really made me feel bad when the one this week turned out to be a serious, realistic offer.

Anyway, I did finish one commission yesterday.

Yep, it's a tree. This is an award-winning bonsai tree named "Sweet Thang". It was done in acrylics, although I would have prefered to do it in oils, but time was an issue. I think it came out fine although the photo above doesn't quite capture all the details and colors. It is 16x20 inches on canvas, so there are a lot of details.

Now, that leaves only 4 older commissions and the one new one from this week! One of these days I'll get caught up -- I hope!

Maybe This Weekend

What a day. I've worked, mostly on this computer, from 7:30 this morning until now. And I'm tired of it. I'd much rather be doing some art, but nope, I'm stuck dealing with....

No, I won't go there. I'm trying hard to be positive and there's no use in whining on about things or people that I can't change.

Let's talk about something more pleasant.

I have new plans to do some more prints. I really enjoy printmaking, although I'm not as creative as some when it comes to it. I like crisp lines and well defined images, much like the early woodcut prints. I'm planning on using my pickiness to an advantage and try the Japanese method of printmaking. It involves multiply block, watercolor paints, and careful planning. That should fit me!

I also like mezzotint, because of it's dark tones, but I need to buy the mezzotint rocker. They run about $125, so that might be down the road. Although, I think some wonderful mezzotints of horses or alpacas would sell. I'd only need 5 sales to pay for the rocker.

In the meantime, I'll stick with the woodblock print. I do have a new block cut and ready to print, but I never seem to have the time. Well, I have the one commission almost done, so once I finish it up tomorrow, maybe I'll actually print the block up this weekend.

Just Maybe...

Okay, I took one of my blogging vacations, again. I'm bad and I'll stand in the corner for a while, later.

What I have been doing is trying to finish up some portraits, doing stuff (or at least listing things) on eBay, and, (this is the fun one) diagnosising my husband's truck's electrical problems from 1000 miles away. So, how am I doing?

On the portrait front: I have another one almost done and am ready to start on two more. I think working on portraits in pairs is a lot easier than one at a time. That way, when I get annoyed with one, I can work on another. And with this pair, one is a pencil portrait, so that's very relaxing!

On the eBay front: I have managed to list things about 5 out of 7 days. Although, I'm going to skip a few days now because I need to string out the eBay pieces a bit because I really haven't had a chance to get too much new stuff done. I'm hoping that in a couple of days, I'll be able to get the portraits under control and get back to at least doing artcards.

On the truck front: I'm good!!! Hubby's been having weird electrical problems and he's been spending bunches of money to have it repaired. The problem is the mechanics kept repairing the symptoms and not the underlying problem. I finally got out the electricl schematics, traced the problem circuits, and they all met at the C8 ground stud. Then I spent most of last night (1 am or so) reading up on automotive electrical systems to confirm my diagnosis and learn the lingo. Today, hubby gave his cell phone to the mechanic and I told him exactly what the problem was, how to diagnosis it (if he wasn't convinced), and where the problem was. And I was right!!!

All this has left me tired, beyond my normal tiredness level. But since I'm making some progress in each area, I don't feel down. I'm just getting frustrated that I'm not getting more art done. Or my website redone. Or the bookshelf built. Or.....

New Auction Format

It's finally the weekend. I'm not sure why that excites me, but for once, I'm glad it's here. Usually it doesn't make any difference -- I work basically 7 days a week until I need a break. Maybe I'm hoping my auctions will pick up?

Speaking of auctions, I'm trying out a few new things with my auction format.

1. More photos so people can see the details
2. A 'photo' of the piece framed -- this is a created photo (cut and paste), and supposedly it will encourage people to buy the piece.
3. Something interesting about about the painting
4. On large canvas pieces, I'll probably include a side photo and a created 'if the painting was on your wall' photo

All this is suppose to increase sales, but who knows? If you look at the eBay Powersellers, their listings range from nothing but one photo and text to really fancy listing templates. I'm not convinced it will make much difference, but the framed shot does make the piece look nicer.

Here's a northern flicker framed:

I just finished this painting today and then listed it tonight. (Click here to see the auction.) It's watercolor on print paper, 11x15. The original looks pretty good sitting on my drawing table, but it really looks terrific framed. So, okay, maybe it will encourage people to bid.

Speaking of bidding, I should go and check the marsh wren that's ending soon. I'm hoping for a bidding war.

Rethinking My Web Site

Hey, I'm doing better. It's only been 5 days since I last wrote. That's better than my week or more off at least. I really do need to write daily as I see from my web site stats, this blog does get people to look at my web site.

That is another thing I need to work on -- my web site. I've been trying to figure out what exactly I should do with my site when it comes to sold work. I mean, if I do paintings daily and I sell them regularly on eBay, do I want extra pages on my site for unavailable work? And what should the relationship be between my web site and my eBay store?

Thanks to a couple people on various artist boards, I think I have answers. I don't know if they are THE answers, but they make sense.

Basically, my web site has three parts, so there's three different plans:

1. The Learning Center -- The purpose of this section is to pass on some of what I have learned. Maybe help some new artists. This section does come up very high in various searches. I probably will add some affiliate banners and maybe Google ads in the hope of getting a bit of revenue. I'll just keep adding to this section and nothing will be removed.
   
2. The Portraits -- Since portraits are sold on past work and not on available work, I'll pick out 8-10 of the best in each medium, plus 1 or 2 recent ones. The rest will be removed. The reason to include the recent ones is that people do like to see their portrait on the Internet. (I also need to get back to featuring them on the home page.) Having about 10 excellent examples should be enough for anyone to decide.
   
3. The Non-Portrait Art -- This is the section which is a problem. While having lots of sold work is nice because various things come up in search engines and hopefully people visit the rest of my site, I feel the for-sale art is being lost. There's some much sold work that the few pieces which are available are hard to find. So, I'm going to be watching the web stats and check out my Google rankings, and then remove those pages for sold items which get few if any hits. Eventually, I may get down to only available artwork plus 2 or 3 excellent, but sold examples. I can always use the sold pieces in various places across my site.

Now, the one problem I have is with the botanical watercolors. I think of them more as plant portraits, so do I treat them like the other portraits? If I got decorators to come to my site, would they like to see the range of my botanicals or would they just be interested in the available pieces? I wonder if I called a couple decorators if they would talk to me about this?

I'm thinking my site should have a lot more background and info on me and my portraits, plus few exclusive pieces, as opposed to my eBay store. The store will be the main sales location and I will have some links from my site to eBay and any other web sites that I have artwork on. This makes sense, but I'm not totally clear or convinced that I like this. I need to think about this more. (Besides, I'm still trying to figure out how to get my web site back on my computer so I can actually update it!)

In the meantime, I have been working, even though I haven't posted stuff here. This weekend, I finished two pieces.

This is Clara, a cute bulldog. It's oil portrait on canvas and goes to one of a wonderful client. She was VERY patient with me as I struggled with this portrait. Basically the problem was, she took the photo with a flash which washes out colors, gives the dog red-eye, and creates bizarre shadows. So, after doing it once (actually twice because I first screwed up the proportions), I didn't like it because of the shadows and I redid it. They say three's a charm and in this case it was. She loves it! And I'm relieved. In any case, I have to think of some way to make the delay up to her.

This is a marsh wren in acrylics on canvas. I did it as part of the PAAO Theme Week Contest, and the theme was "W-Z" animals. I think it came out fine, although I almost quit on it half way thru it. I didn't like the cattails, in part because there was a big white hole for where the wren was going to go. I kept working on it and then finally put the wren in and, like magic, it all worked. What people don't realize is that the background took about twice as long as the bird, and yet the background is not really important unless it detracts from the bird. It's kind of annoying! Anyway, it's up on auction until Friday, so take a look and bid!

And now, I had better go get back to work! I still have 5 commissions to do plus new stuff for my eBay store.

Creating My Own Headaches

Okay, I'm insane. I admit it.

If you look over my blogs, one common theme is that I don't have enough time to fit everything in. I'm trying to create stunning artwork daily, make all my food, care for 5 acres of fruit trees, care for cats and birds, read, .... Yes, it's 2 platefuls of stuff to do.

So, what do I do? Instead of scratching something off my list, I add to it. I created a group of artists, Artists2Watch, on eBay with the idea that we can all work together to be successful. It's a sound idea, but I'm finding out how much time running a group takes up. It's not like being a member of a group, where I can not show up for a week. Nope, I have to be there, daily, or twice-daily.

What's really interesting is that since I started the group, I've gotten 3 portraits done, 2 small paintings, and one art card. That's a lot for me, especially when I'm spending hours hunting for quality artists to invite into the group. I'm suspecting that it has to do with being a bit more organized and just doing it now. (I don't have time to sit around and think about what to do next -- I just need to get it done!) Things are still a bit hectic, but I think in a few days, that will settle down, especially when I get all the portraits done.

Maybe this is a key to getting more stuff done? Try doing more? Hey, I never said I was normal.

Rethinking the Balance

I think it's all the stress of late because I never could really get going. And I'm sleepy already at 6pm.

So, I took most of the day off and finally installed the CD-burner software. Then I burned a couple of CDs with photos of my artwork and, of course, I crashed my computer. Nothing major -- just some warning about the system being unstable. Maybe it has something to do with my system barely being enough to run the software?!

I did work a bit on a dog portrait and a small still life of a gourd. Both are coming along well, and I hope to have them done by Friday. I really will be glad when I get these portraits done, so I can take a break from them for a while. I want to get back sculpting but as long as I have these commissions, I don't feel like I should take the time to pound on a rock!

Then again, maybe I should. There's a book, Coaching the Artist Within by Eric Maisel, which I've been reading. While some of tiredness is physical (the neighbor's dogs barking most of the night doesn't help my sleep at all!), most of it is mental/emotional. According to Maisel, one reason for this lack of energy is a lack of passion and belief that what I'm doing is meaningful. I will admit that I don't see art as very important, but I guess that my art does move people, so okay, it's meaningful. (Yep, I'm trying to convince myself!)

As for the passion, that has kind of been lost in most part. I think it has to do with my focus on making this a profitable business. It's widely accepted and partially true that pieces which an artist finds meaningful often are not commercially successful. If an artist wants to pay the bills, then the choice is a day job or doing saleable artwork. When the saleable artwork is the only thing I do, then I get to feel empty and tired. And since I don't 'allow' myself to do the sculpture or paintings are meaningful to me, I don't recharge my spirit.

Now the problem is balance the needs of portrait commissions and work for eBay against sculpture and paintings for me. Afterall, there is only so many hours in the day and I literally have to do everything by myself around the house. I thought I had this balance figured out, but the business side seems to have taken over again, so I have to rethink the situation.

And while I'm thinking, I'm going to go make supper and then watch a DVD tonight with my cats. (They get a yummy Valentine's Day treat -- raw liver. Yum.)

Another Day, Another Computer Glitch

Here it is -- 8:18 pm -- and I'm still working. Still not had supper. And still having computer issues!

Today's computer fun involved a floppy disk. I wrote something out, copied it to a floppy, and went into the library to print it out on their nice printers. I put the disk in the computer and it says that it's not formatted. Huh? An hour before, all the data was there. Now it's gone. I came home and tried the disk. Same thing -- no formatting. I don't know what happened, but this has happened before at the library. I suspect that their computers may only allow you to copy stuff to a disk and not copy things from a disk to their computers. Makes sense, but I sure wish they would warn a person! (So I never did get it printed out.)

And my website is still not functioning!

One pleasant thing is that the burrowing owl is getting a decent amount of views, and so is the green pear. I'm rather surprised with the latter, but I'm not complaining.

This green pear was one of the first of a series of palette knife paintings in oils which I did last month. While it's not the most spectacular of the bunch -- the others are more colorful -- it is charming in it's own way. In life, the textures are really nice.

I also put up an older, but very nice botanical watercolor.

I don't know if anyone will bid on it or not, but I do need to get back to listing things daily and to build my store inventory back up. And who knows, it just might sell!

And now, I think I deserve to have something for supper, if only a bowl of cold cereal!!!

Just About Had It!!!

I can't believe the last 3+ weeks. Between computer meltdowns and hubby's truck problems, I'm just about ready to give up and go flip burgers!

Here's my last 3+ weeks:

• computer 'smells' -- get new power supply and hard-drive. Small bill.
• hubby's truck has no turn signals, sometimes -- his truck has intermittent problems with turn signals so he stops and has it worked on for a day. BIG bill.
• computer stops working -- 2 days out for the shop, the computer decides it doesn't have an operating system, so back to the shop. Tech guy saves most of data, but not my emails, when he reformats the hard-drive. Small bill.
• hubby's truck still has no turn signals, again -- 50 miles from the repair place, they go out again. Owner says he can't do anything else, so take it to a truck dealer. Stops at dealer and they have no clue either! Medium bill.
• computer refuses to send or receive photos -- my ISP claims it's software and Microsoft says it's ISP. Take it back to Tech guy and he reformats hard-drive again. I get to install all the software again. Small bill.
• hubby's truck has no turn signals (while driving in L.A.) and now has a power drain -- he comes home. Truck refuses to start so we charge the batteries (4 of them) with my motorcycle battery charger. Get it started and we take it to our local diesel mechanic. Was in the shop for 3 days -- warns us he's not sure if he fixed it. HUGE bill and, because of a bank problem, we have to pay by check not credit card.
• computer works fine, but ISP doesn't -- for some reason the ISP keeps not recognizing my dial-up number. Finally, after 2 hours on the phone, my computer doesn't think I'm calling a new number everytime I connect to the internet. No bill.
• hubby's truck smells -- he gets up one morning to find a battery leaking. Gets a new one ($200+ if you want to know) and everything seems fine. Small bill.
• computer works, but web site missing -- a friend emails that my site is down. That was on Friday and it's still down. So I spent the weekend moving all my eBay store photos to an independent server and then revising all the listings to point to the new photos. No bill, but 3 days of work!

Now, haven't I had fun? All totalled, these two electron problems cost us about $3000, a week of driving for hubby, and 2 weeks of working time for me.

And somewhere in all this process, I'm suppose to be creating wonderful art, finishing up some portraits, doing some sculptures, and planting fruit trees. Well, the trees aren't going to get planted since I don't have the money to buy them. The sculptures are going to have to wait because I don't have time. The people waiting for the portraits are already pissed at me, so what's a bit longer? And I did do a nice burrowing owl, somehow. (Now if everyone bids huge amounts, maybe it'll pay off the bills from the last 3 weeks?)

Burrowing Owl auction

To say that I'm tired is an understatement of huge proportions! I'm mentally and emotionally exhausted. This is why, despite everything I'm suppose to be doing, I have been taking time out to draw leaves (very meditative activity) and read. I'll get thru this somehow -- I always do -- but I relly would like to take a week off and go pound on a rock.

Instead, I need to go list something else on eBay.

A Few Tiny Steps Back to Normal

I'm making tiny steps back to having a functioning computer. I spent most of today trying to convince my ISP program that it was me and that I hadn't changed the access numbers. I think I have finally did it. At least I'm convinced enough that I went ahead an installed my website software and the photo editing software. Both work fine, except.... almost as naty a word as but ... I have to go thru all the website files and uncheck the read only box in properties. Once I do that, everything seems to be fine. At least it was for the web I use to create auction templates. For my web site, www.lmhornberger.com, I have to uncheck about 350 files! (Since I'm not planning on doing much website updating in the next 24 hours, I'll leave it for later.) Tomorrow, it's Mr. Scanner's turn to be introduced to Mr. Computer.

I did get an auction listed today -- because I can really use the money! It's a very detailed pencil drawing of an old Mexican lady.

To bid on the Auction for this drawing.

I had planned on listing a series of birds from A-Z, but with the computer problems and with a couple of commissions, that plan is on hold. Besides, I'm still very tired -- okay, depressed -- and I don't really feel like doing much of anything.

As for this depression or blahs, it's a bit better. Once I get back into the habit of doing art, I'll feel better. Hopefully that will happen this weekend, although, with hubby coming home for a few days, I don't know how much artwork I'll get done.

Lightning Strikes Twice

And they say that lighting doesn't strike twice. Ha! It did!

As I wrote last week, I spent almost a week without a computer thanks to a problem with the hard-drive and power supply. I got it back mid-week and fried it on Saturday. (Or was it Friday? I don't know -- it's all a bit of a blur.)

I had gone to a website that suggested using the latest version of Internet Explorer, which I can't because I have an older computer. Usually this kind of warning only means something won't work or look pretty. Well, in this case, it froze up my browser to the point I had to physically turn the computer off as opposed to shutting it down properly. Then when I turned it back on, no Windows! Well, actually, it had Windows but kept asking for the key code, which if I entered would basically reformat my hard-drive. So, back to a computer store -- I went to a different one because Mike (the guy who fixed it the first time) was off until Tuesday or Wednesday and I didn't want to wait another week. Well, Ted checked everything out, saved some of my data, and reformatted my hard-drive.

So, I'm back to square one. I lost all my email addresses, most of my photos not on my website, and all the software I had installed. I've spent most of today trying to get my computer to talk nicely to the internet. So far, I can browse and get email. One tiny step at a time. Tomorrow, I may introduce my computer to either my scanner or maybe my website software. Such excitement, huh?

I know I really need to buy a new computer and I'll start looking for one. I also will start backing up everything. (That's the ironic part of this tale of woe -- I was going out that afternoon to buy writeable CDs to save my photos when I had the problem in the morning. 24 hours later and things would not have been lost.)

I'm exhausted! I suppose it's just the stress. Not only do I have to deal with computer issues, not being able to list auctions, and figuring out how to get hold of a couple of clients, but hubby's truck has developed a electrical problem and a transmission problem and Sammy (my cat) now has several more growths on his chest. I honestly feel like just going to bed and waking up sometime this summer!

Needless to say, I haven't done much artwork. I know I should be working on several things, but I can't. I'm too tired. Last time I tried doing stuff when I was this tired, I really messed things up. I know getting back to work and doing some art would help me, but it's hard to not feel like the world is falling in on me. Maybe tomorrow will be a brighter day?!

Back to Cyberland

Well, I'm finally back and my computer is now functioning.

As some of you know, last week I had the wonderful experience of burning up a hard-drive. This is the second one in 6 years. So, for about a week, my computer has been in the shop getting a new hard-drive, a new power supply, a new floppy drive, and a CD burner. The last two things were things I wanted for some time, so while Mike was working on my computer, I had him put them in. What was totally surprising was the bill -- only charged me $30 for the labor. (The hardware was a whole lot more since I have an old and somewhat special computer which takes expensive, non-standard parts.) So, if anyone is near Yucca Valley, CA and needs a computer fixed, go to Computer Zone!

Anyway, it was rather interesting to live without a computer and tv for a week. The only computer I dealt with was one of the public computers in the library to let eBay buyers know that I was computerless. Other than that, nothing. And I'm still refusing to watch tv (I should explain why someday).

At first I was panicky and really agitated about not being able to check my email, auctions, etc. I discoverd that my whole day was structured around reading emails, listing auctions, and checking auctions. Without a computer, this structure was gone. But my mind kept saying, "Time to check the auctions." It was an interesting tug-of-war that left me nervous and confused. And I will admit that I was bored at times.

After a couple of days the panic left and I really began to enjoy the extra time I had. I figure that not having a computer opened up 2-3 hours a day to do other things. I read 2 books, watched dvds, cleaned my house, fixed gourmet meals, and started on a built-in bookcase in my studio. These are things that either needed to be done or I had wanted to do, but never had time to do. It was a shock to me once I realized how much of this other stuff I was getting done. I knew I was on the computer off-and-on during a typical day, but I never realized just how much time (and energy) it took up.

But there was another interesting effect of having no computer or tv. My mind became calmer and I felt more rested. It took a few days for this to really become apparent, but then I noticed that not only was my mood brighter, but I felt physically better. I presume some of this had to do with me eating better and not sitting in front of this keyboard, but I don't think it totally explains it. I also had a minor burst of creativity -- the small palette knife paintings easily happened and I came up with tons of ideas.

And then the computer was back from the shop. I confess, the first day back, I overdosed. Not only did I have to deal with some problems (partial recovery of data from the old hard-drive is NOT fun!), but I had a list of things to check on the internet and about 175 non-spam emails to deal with. I would say within 3 hours, my mind was back to where it had been before the meltdown.

So, what do I do now with this interesting experience? I don't know. I would give myself computer holidays, but I make my money from selling art on the internet, so I can't really say, "This May, I'm not using my computer." (Well, I could say that, but I also like to eat!) I think the best I can do is to become more aware of how much I am using this computer and try not to use it to entertain myself when I'm bored. There's a number of other activities, such as reading, cooking, building shelves, etc, which are more interesting (and useful) than putting puzzles together online or playing solitaire on my computer.

Better Late, than Never

Yes, I know on Saturday I said that tomorrow (Sunday) I would explain what I had plan for next month. And now it's Tuesday. So, I'm late. Give me the tardy slip and I'll go to the principal's office!

And yes, I'm in a rather happy and therefore totally obnoxious mood.

I can't explain it, but I sold 6 things out of my eBay store, got 2 commissions for bonsai paintings, and someone wants me to build them a website. It really is strange to me that all this is happening at once. Hubby says, "It's about time you get noticed!" (He's a tiny bit biased!) I don't know if it's the listing 3-5 items a week or just that half the country is stuck inside because of nasty weather. Only problem with the latter explanation is that the lady who bought 5 store items is from Australia, where it's summer!

Besides the sales, I also finished a portrait -- well, actually I'm setting it aside until I put in the final details.

And I did another little palette knife painting, which came out quite well. So, needless to say, I'm a happy camper!!!

Okay, back to February. February has 28 days. The alphabet has 26 letters. Hmm.... That got me thinking. What I came up with is this: In February, I'm going to do birds from A to Z. One a day. In a variety of sizes. In a variety of media. It's going to be a lot of work, but why not? The birds have been a good seller. And doing something weird like this might get me a bit more attention. Sometime in the next week or so, I need to send out emails to everyone on my mailing list and promote this project. I'm also going to create a special page in my eBay store to feature this project. It'll have small photos of each with the ones up for auction listed below.

The only problem with this project is I work slowly. When it comes to larger pieces, I'm just going to have to start those a day or two in advance of when I'm doing that letter. Also, I have to think what to do about oil paintings. While I can paint them a day in advance, so they will be dry enough to scan, I can't varnish them for a month. Guess I'll just have to say something in the listing about it either being unvarnished or I'll hold it until it can be varnished.

Oh, then there's the ablatrosses -- the backlog of portraits. This bird project is strong motivation to get those &#^$*$ portraits done NOW! Since I got one done, that's only 3 to go. I'll finish another one by Friday, so that leaves two for next month. I can do it!!!

Hmm, and somewhere in here I have to work on the bonsai commissions. I'll figure it out.

And in the meantime, I'm off to have a cup of warm tea. It's still cold here -- one degree warmer last night. It could do better and warm up at least a couple of degrees more!

Frost on the Pumpkin... And Then Some

Okay, I live in southern California. And yes, I live in the desert. So, why is there snow on the cactus?!

Yep, snow. Yesterday it snowed and then, unlike normal when it does snow, the temperatures dropped so the snow stayed. I can look out my windows and see snow. It's really weird, since the purple mountains are now white. And the weather people are saying it will stay cold for several more days. Tonight is suppose to be the coldest, although last night it did get down to 17 degrees F. For here, that is VERY cold.

So, I stay inside and drink lots of hot cocoa.

Lately, I've been spending my mornings working on 2 different portraits and I'm almost done with both. Thankfully! They have been like a huge weight around my neck and I would like to finish them off soon. Then finish the next two. Then the final one. And finally I'll be done with my backlog.

One reason I want to get the portraits done is so I can do more of my own stuff. I presently working on a small series of palette knife paintings. So far, they have been all still lifes, but I won't guarantee that forever. (I feel bird and floral paintings coming on!) Just so we know what I'm talking about, here's one:

This is a small oil on masonite. Instead of brushes, it was painted with palette knives, which saves on brush cleaning! It also give the painting a vibrancy because it is only slightly mixed. This Sprouted Onion is one of the better ones. I did ruin a couple pieces of masonite because I just wasn't used to handling knives. But the one I did yesterday, which is still drying, is the best so far, so it looks like I'm learning.

Now the point of doing these palette knife paintings is to get faster. Because I can't add all the tiny details which I tend to want to put in, I have to focus on the main points. I'm hoping that after another 8-10 paintings, I'll actually be a faster painting.

And giving what I have planned for February, I had better be fast! But more on that tomorrow. (Assuming I don't freeze to death!)

Ugh...

I'm sick. Hubby came home on Tuesday and brought us a present -- a cold. Either that or we picked it up on Wednesday when we went grocery shopping. In any case, both he and I didn't have a nice weekend. He's back on the road and is doing better than I am.

I did manage to do a tiny bit of work. I sent out some emails. I gessoed some masonite for new paintings. And I planned a few paintings. Not exactly what I planned. I had hoped to get one portrait done and then work on another small oil or two.

Although, after this weekend, I'm thinking larger pieces. There are tons of people that are now doing small pieces. In fact, I know of at least 5 eBay groups that are dedicated to small paintings and one dedicated to minature sculptures. This all happened because several people mentioned that they were selling well with small pieces, so everyone ran to do them. This weekend, however, I sold a 16x20 and a 11x15. While these aren't large, even by my standard, they were larger than my normal offerings and larger than a lot of artwork on eBay. I do have another large bird painting planned but I need to stretch some paper, and then there's the landscape with moose, and then... So many ideas, so little time!

Well, I've got a terrible headache and I still need to list something tonight. I'd better get better soon, or I'll run out of older stuff to list!