"All I want for Christmas is my two thousand dollars!!"

If I stumbled upon a cash-only genie and he/she granted me one money-giving wish of any amount, I'd only want two thousand dollars. Then I'd humbly thank the blue sassy genie, voiced over by robin williams.
To share my wealth, I'd drop a ten in Homeless Bob's "Ninjas kidnapped my wife and I need money for her ransom" donation box. I could tell Homeless Bob about the money-giving genie only a block away from his cardboard home, but I question Bob's sanity. I mean, what would happen to the world if a crazy alcoholic, with outrageous opinions based on his insanity, came into a huge sum of money? Well, ahem, politics....

Why just two thousand dollars, you may wonder? Why not two million dollars? Or two billion trillion guhzillion?... Well, come on now! I'm not greedy! ;)

Seriously though, if I had at least two thousand dollars I could buy everything on my wishlist for the year 2012. My wishlist consists of everything I feel would help me progress in my pursuit to be a self-sufficient self-employed visual artist. But with the luck I've had during the holiday season art shows, I may never make enough profit to actually progress... sigh...

Why not get a small business loan?

Well, for one, I have no credit. Most businesses wont trust a young artist like me (with absolutely no credit history or co-signers) to pay back a small business loan. I have no credit for the same exact reason I'll never want to receive a small business loan; I'm... wait for it... debt phobic!

What?! An American debt phobic?!

Yes, yes I am. Debt phobia is the reason I didn't go to college for art. I've met too many art graduates working at coffee shops forever paying for their education. Btw, I see nothing wrong with that. An education is very important, I just choose to give myself an unstructured, unconventional, cheap, more-lazy-than-not art education...

Slammin' Wishlist for 2012

Canon - EOS Rebel T3i 18mpx DSLR

This would definitely take a huge chunk out of the 2k budget! Ok, to be absolutely honest, I'm completely camera dumb. But I have a feeling this is a badass camera and I'd be willing to take a college class on how to use this baby. But, in reality I'm good with any great digital camera capable of capturing perfectly detailed images of my products for my etsy shop and portraits of people I'll use as references for my art, and the ability to record Full HD so I can market myself on youtube by up loading tutorials and such. If you have a cheaper suggestion, please let me know. :)

EZ Screen Printing Kit & Shirts

A major plan I have for next year is to put my art on tshirts! I live in a small 1bdrm apartment with an 8x8 dining room turned art "studio" area. I dont have a lot of room or resources to make my own screen printing frames and chemical clean up that goes into diy screen printing. So I came across this nifty way to screen print without all the prep mess. I've never used it before but I've read pretty great reviews and watched neat youtube videos. I don't plan to go all corporate with my shirts, probably only making a few shirts of a certain design at a time, so this seems like it'll work perfectly. :) The refill sheets may seem expensive but when I take into account how much I could potentially sell tshirts for with a design from just one sheet, I dont mind paying extra for the convenience of using these sheets over making my own stencils from picture frames, mesh, and emulsion. Plus, I'm a screen-printing virgin so I need to be led gently into the world of soft cotton, dimmed lights, gentle touches, heavy scraping, careful exposure, hot heat, and messy clean up.

Art Show Booth Setup Materials & Supplies

I searched and found a reasonably priced canopy at Walmart.com that I really love. It fits the style I imagine my booth to look like. :) The rest of the remaining 2k would be spent on marketing and DIY projects I'd do to save money on the booth setup, like using white painted tree branches as clothing racks and thrift store shopping for table cloths and other misc decor.

I'm sure when it's all said and done, I'll have enough left for a sandwich. I'll ask for a small smoked turkey combo, no mayo, at Schlotzky's. Then I'll open my wallet to retrieve a ten dollar bill to pay for the expensive $9 small combo and realize I have no money left. I'll turn to leave the building and see Homeless Bob eating a turkey combo with the sassy blue genie, flipping me off...

Quick Tip: Cheap Art Print Sleeves!!!

Photo courtesy of Bre Williams

Just a quick money-saving tip I thought I should share.

When you are looking for some protective archival safe, acid free, clear plastic bags and sturdy backer boards for your art prints, go to your local comic book shop. They'll have plastic sleeves and backer boards of different sizes (basically standard comic book size up to magazine size) on the cheap. I bought 100 archival safe, acid free sleeves for just $6 and 100 thick 24pt back boards for about $10

Yeah that's right. 100 8.5x11 bags for only $6 and 8.5x11 24pt backer boards for only $10. That totals to .16 for each art print you protect. Awesome right?!? If you've ever bought art sleeves and/or backer boards from the mega chain craft stores you will know how great that is. :)

I think the only down side to saving that much money is the bags don't come with a strip of adhesive on the back of the bags to keep them closed (at least the brand I bought doesn't, but some might), but it's nothing a little strip of scotch or masking tape couldn't fix. :)

Happy Creating!!

Gotta Have It! : Portable Credit Card Machine

Of course everyone knows that the traditional US currency, made up of linen and cotton fibers portraying legendary Presidents (that look like they may have been as wrinkly in real life as their printed image on the crumpled up bill found in the pocket of my washed then dried jeans), is slowly but surely being replaced by plastic gold. I say "gold" because it seems credit cards are what Leprechauns are hiding in their pot of gold and too many people have found their way to the end of the rainbow, indulging in the seemingly endless amount of money that is... well, not technically theirs.... Unless of course it's debit...

Anyways, knowing this, it's always a good idea for artisans to be prepared for those customers who choose to pay with a card. Since not every artist can be so lucky to pick a display spot right next to the ATM machine, the only other option is to have your very own portable credit card machine.

Now you can rent one of those bulky credit card machines you'll see at retail stores. I'm not too sure of all the details of how to obtain those since after doing only a little research on prices I quickly exited the web tab.

My best advice, (which you definitely should always take with a grain of salt since I'm no professional but just an opinionated rambler) is to first get yourself an iPhone. I'm not sure if these options which I'm about to show you are compatible with other smartphones or if there are different options for the other smartphones, but I do know that the iPhone has been a business savior for me. In all candidness, if you ever considered renting one of the bulky credit card readers, you might as well buy yourself an iPhone and save money.

Once you have an iPhone or have always had one, here are two options that I know of that are FREE small compact portable credit card readers that plug right up into your phone!! There no monthly payments and you only have to pay a small percentage of every sale, (maybe 2% but don't quote me on that).

Square



I don't personally use the Square, but most of the artists I've seen who have this type of credit card reader use this brand.

Intuit GoPayment



This is the brand I use. It's bulkier than the Square, but I like to think of it as being sturdier. Also, the lanyard is a definite pro since it's super easy for me to lose things.

Just click those links and do a little bit of your own research and figure out which one tickles your fancy. I remember the application and registration process being pretty straight forward and easy. Intuit called me to make sure I am a real person with a real reason to have the card reader, so I can say they are legit. I received the reader within two weeks and they also included window decals showing the major credit cards I accept. As of right now, I have no complaints. I see all types of small businesses, from freelance artists to food trailer vendors, use these handy little devices.

It's up to the individual to decide if a little card reader is worth it. But honestly, who has a decent amount of cash in their wallets anymore? I'm sure there are still people walking around with fat wallets protruding from their back pocket like a lumpy target for thieves or gold-diggers, but more than likely anyone wanting to carry that much heat rather have it all in one secure and humble place. I always feel bad when I see the little cub scouts and girl scouts camped out in front of Wal-Mart looking up at me with those darling freckles and cute buck teeth and asking if I'd like to donate money. Sure, they'll make sells and probably a lot of sells with their arsenal of cuteness equipped with guilt guns pumped full of morality bullets. But can you imagine how much more sells they'd make if they took credit cards??? If they could guilt you where it counts, your plastic gold?!?

I hope you found this post somewhat helpful with the couple of tips I threw into a sea of ramblings. :D

Happy crafting!!

Hi. I'm Sarah. I'm an artist...

I've become comfortable with the idea that I thrive from chaos. Clutter and I go hand in hand like Lindsey Lohan and court dates. Buy me a weekend at a clean four star hotel room with a box of arts and crafts, leave me alone to dwell in my artistic madness, and you will return to confetti covered floors, glue sticks stuck to appliances, bed sheets strewn across the room, walls covered in magazine clippings, coffee burning in the coffee maker, and scissors and xacto knives resting so perfectly open on the floor just waiting for uncovered flesh to slice... An observer would see the destruction of 4 star quality into what you'd see at a run-down crack addict hobo motel. But I will stand up, look around the room, seeing only perfection, and feel at total peace...

I see my craft room like a dream catcher, I clutter my web with things I admire to keep the good energy around me and the negativity away. Mr. Psychoanalyst, is it an insecurity to surround myself with a cluttery chaos, building random obstacles of yarn, paints, xacto knives, and mounds of laundry (usually clean :\)? Don't get me wrong, I dont live in squalor. I don't have trash and rotting food laying around my house, nor do I have bugs infesting my place. It's 100% just clean clutter, aside from the occasional lack of dish cleanliness.

Since finding the love of my life and thus becoming an at-home-girlfriend/artist, I'm having trouble finding the comfortable balance of being a chaotic artist and being a Susie Homemaker. The first couple of months living in our first apartment together, I cleaned everyday as a routine. I knew my love would be home at 5:30 so I began cleaning at 2:30pm, had dinner started at 4:30pm, and showered and dressed up before he got home. Not only did I want to be presentable, but I wanted him to know I was at home doing "my part". I assume this is what happens to newly weds, at least to those who have one who stays home to do the house work.

Months later, finally feeling comfortable enough in my own skin to pursue my love of art, everything began changing. Slowly Susie Homemaker let go of her responsibilities, first starting with the dishes, letting them pile high. But, gosh darn didn't her art look amazing. Then the laundry became neglected, starting as small piles in the corners to then evolving into a sea of cotton and polyester. The more and more I dwelled inside the chaos of my creativity, the more Susie let herself go.

Now my art is beautiful and really taking off, but my house has suffered. I'm not only in the pursuit of my happiness, but in pursuit of the great almighty balance of life.

Ironically enough, the clutter has finally taken it's toll on me and is sucking the motivation right out of me. The part of me that feels guilty for the clutter is clashing with the part of me that thrives from it. The mess in my craft area is getting in the way of creating art. I've let myself dwell too long in my creative chaos and it's time to allow myself to resurface for a breath of fresh air.

It still amazes me how two adults can trash a place so easily. I guess the lack of motivation stems from when I do have the energy to clean it only take my boyfriend and I a few hours, not days, to have it cluttered up again!!! Plus, I also realized I have slight hording tendencies. My goal this week is to go through all my old crafts and clothes and get rid of or donate all of that which I never use.

Ya know, I guess there's nothing wrong with being both an artist and an at-home-lover. In my mind, I'll just spice up the old Susie, maybe spell her name with a "z" (Suzy), take down her beehive hairdo and make it into a messy bun, and splatter a bit of paint and dirt on her otherwise bleach clean apron. :)

Crochet Crazy - Dog Sweaters!!

Cold days are finally pushing their way through Texas, giving some much needed relief after a sweltering summer of more than 70 days of triple digit heat! I actually don't want to throw a temper tantrum every time I see the weather forecast anymore! There are days that are actually under 80!! But, it's finally dropping to 60F and below, so it's definitely sweater time!!

The chilly air got me inspired to crochet my dog a new sweater! Luckily (for me, not her) Tootsie was a winter baby so before I even got to have her I was already crocheting her some super fab sweaters!!! The first two sweaters I ever made for her were so adorable. One was colorful and fun with a cute little frilly skirt and the second was black with a fuzzy white trim hood!

Look how effin cute she was!!!! SO adorable. She's still a beautiful dog, but man nothing warms a heart like those cute round puppy eyes and tiny little paws!! hehe :D <3 I tell ya, one thing I sure don't miss is all those little accidents in the house. O.o




A year later and Tootsie is a much bigger creature. Although I wish I could pull out those old cute sweaters, unfortunately her head wouldn't even fit through it.


So, this year I decided to make her a "chic" sweater, or I atleast tried to.
(Don't be fooled by her melancholy look. She's super spoiled!)

I'm by no means a fashionista, nor am I even aware what fashion is, but I tried. I wanted the hood to be full instead of the traditional half circle type hood. Make sense? The hood is wide enough to be rolled back onto her shoulders, creating a super cute collar. The skirt I went for a more subtle wave other than the tight frills of her older sweaters.

She looks so cute in it!!! I love it on her!

Here's another sweater I made for her. I wanted to make her a Cheshire cat costume for Halloween but I was overly ambitious to think I could get it all done, start to finish, on Halloween day! So instead, she just has a cute striped sweater!!





And finally, here is my creative, overly dramatic interpretation of how embarrassed she would be if pups really did care about such things as home made crocheted sweaters made by momma!!!

2012 Calendars!!!!!

Now for sale!! I'll have them up soon on my online shop!! I'll be selling them in person at every event I'll be apart of now until the end of this year :D
The calendars are printed on 110 bright white heavy card-stock.


Each calendar month's art is designed to allow re-purposing of the art after each month is over. Just clip off the art and frame! :D


The calendar has a single small hole punch at the top of every page where two loops are attached for hanging. The biggest loop (the main hanging ring) is a book binding ring so it's easy to detach, allowing the passing months to flip easily over if you rather keep the calendar together opposed to re-purposing the art.


I'm selling these calendars for $20. :) <3

More shows this week!!!

Mayne!!! I totally busied myself this week! Three art shows in a four day period!
Halloween, THE GREATEST TIME OF THE YEAR, is coming up soon and I need some extra extra spending money and I figured I would book every show I could until the end of October!!

So the next event I have lined up seems like it's going to be pretty awesome.
Live poetry slam, live art, live music, and cupcakes!! Sounds fun right?!
Check out the event's facebook page here, Our Eyes Need Art!

One of the tasks we were given, if we wanted to, is take an old torn up skateboard and splatter our creative magic all over it to create an art piece out of it. I'm kinda excited about it.
I took sandpaper to the back of the skateboard, made is smooth, and mod-podged watercolor paper over it.


After painting the portraits, I sprayed several coats of clear sealant over the pictures to insure they paintings would not get messed up.
It turned out beautifully. I got a lot of comments on it :D

Art Over Congress!

Tomorrow I'll be showcasing three original watercolor paintings, FOR SALE, at this event:

FREE SHOW!!!

Location: Club Lanai Austin

Time: ‎7:00PM Wednesday, September 21st
Check out this event's facebook page, Art Over Congress, for more details.

There will be many other awesome artists there displaying their unique work. Come by and support local artists :)

These are the three paintings I'll be displaying and hopefully selling.
So, if you see your favorite painting below and would love to own the original, then swing by this event and purchase it :D

Tree Tattoo by ~SarahSlam on deviantART
Better Run, Better Run by ~SarahSlam on deviantART
Amber is the color... by ~SarahSlam on deviantART

Awesome news breaks my bad vibes...

Okay, so I went on a crazy rant yesterday with my last post about purchasing a car with no credit and no co-signer. I've deleted the post because it was totally just pumped full of raw unfiltered human emotion. My anger was completely placed on the lack of help we were receiving from the car dealerships, for new and used cars, and their misleading ads targeting people who are the most desperate for a vehicle. I had to cancel one art show earlier this month due to my former car's transmission giving out, and my boyfriend has been hitching a ride to work for the past two weeks. We both have NO credit (not bad credit) so we were at the mercy of a co-signer or really outrageous interest rates.
Thankfully, a breath of fresh air (literally, our new car can actually pass the emissions test)!
My boyfriend's family really helped us in finding a great car. We will be receiving it this weekend!!! Here's a picture of the what it will look like:
2009 Toyota Corolla
We're both soooo excited, and probably for a reason many people take for granted, air conditioning!!! Neither one of our old cars, 98? Ford Ranger and 99 Chevy Blazer, had air conditioning, and what a HORRIBLE summer it has been in Austin, TX. Triple digit weather for like 75 days straight!!
Also, having just a reliable, newer car is a relief of stress for both of us. Now my boyfriend can drive himself to his professional job and I can actually attend all my future art shows/events. Maybe even attend some festivals I'm not obligated to show up to, just for fun, and not have to worry about horrible fuel economy/cost or baking inside an oven on wheels!!

Geez!

Gosh, I know. I'm a horrible blogger. I haven't blogged in so long and there's actually so much to blog about!

First off..
Newest of all Sarah Slam news: I now have an etsy shop! Sarah Slam on Etsy. Or you can visit my Etsy blogger page by clicking the "Etsy Shop" link at the top of this page!!!
As of right now I have only listed original watercolor paintings for sale. But, if you're interested in owning one of my paintings but you're not picky about owning an original painting, I'm in the process of making prints of all my artwork!!! Pretty soon my shop will be loaded with very affordable prints and postcards and other items based on your favorite Sarah Slam artwork!! SO please save the link!!

Okay, now to catch up on old news I should've already updated about...

My first art showcase went AMAZING!!! I had so many people compliment my work. I even had some people want to take their picture with me!! It was a great night. I sold one original painting to a man who probably had one to many drinks, who then gave the painting to a beautiful redhead who the tipsy many seemed to be smitten with. hehehe. Of course those were all assumptions, but educated guesses nonetheless. :) Here is a photo of how my art was showcased! (sorry it uploads super big. I dont know how to make it smaller, but if you click on the image it will upload the photo X.x)



This was the view from my showcase area :D It was much prettier at night with all the lights of the building lit up :)



I also made postcard size prints to sale for those who wanted to walk away with a piece of my art but couldn't afford the price of an original. They were really popular with the crowd and I'll definitely keep making and selling them!!! I recently bought a postcard template stamp so I can hand-stamp the back of each postcard print and sell them as actual postcards on my etsy store soon!! :D

I'm Back! From Outer Space!

Sorry it's been awhile since I posted last. I've had so many things going on like....
I'M GOING TO SHOWCASE MY ART IN A VENUE ON 6TH ST OF AUSTIN
Flippin rad right?!?
It's just a one night event, on Aug 18th, not that I'm trying to degrade how awesome of an opportunity it is for me :D
I only have a buhjillion things I need to get done in a month before the art event....

And the most important of all those things is to create more art to showcase.
Recently, I have been introduced to the lovely Masking Fluid and I just can't get enough of her. lol

Humility by ~SarahSlam on deviant

I created those white spaces by painting lines with masking fluid and then adding color to the art after the masking fluid dried. Then after the watercolor paint dried, I carefully peeled off the lines of dried masking fluid. Masking fluid dries like stretchy rubber, protects the paper underneath it from any paint(meaning you can paint right over it and you don't have to worry about it seeping through) and it's really easy to peel off
(It reminds me of the glue-goop type substance that is used to close flyers and brochures that I peel off and immaturely throw at something hoping it sticks. haha .)

ART
Fearless by ~SarahSlam on deviantART

I really love how the watercolors flow together in lines and blend so awesomely. So if you like this new style I got going on, you can bet to see more of it soon.

Pricing Your Worth...

Recently a friend of mine asked if I would paint a portrait of her.
Portraits are fun because I have to meet the challenge to create art that not only looks like that person, but also portrays their personality. Unfortunately, this friend and I weren't close enough in highschool for me to really get to know her personality, I just decided to go with the flow. Meaning I went crazy on it.

Vivian: Portrait of a Friend by ~SarahSlam on deviantART
But before I even painted her portrait she asked how much the original would be....
I was conflicted. I hate asking people for money. I hate even more trying to evaluate my worth in a fair way that the other person can appreciate. Yeah sure you can go to Hobby Lobby right now and buy a pretty art PRINT for 50% off, but you're lucky to be able to afford the original Starry Night by Van Gogh.
Ok, I'm not comparing myself to Van Gogh, I happen to think I look better with two ears.
I'm just curious of how much I should sell my original portraits for. I don't make commercial art that the guy on the corner can do for half the price. I literally pour my soul into my work...
Ok, now I'm rambling. I've searched for opinions but as everyone knows everyone has an opinion and they usually conflict one after the other.
So, what's your opinion? How much would you be willing to pay for an original of your portrait?

Oh, and another slight problem is after I make one friend's portrait, three more friends want one. How do I tell them, "Do you have Paypal?" I think one friend was hurt after I told her I would sell it to her. I'm unemployed and my dream career is to be an artist (isn't everyone's?) so is it smart to give out free portraits, maybe gain popularity, or should I make profit from my friends as I go?

Trying to Draw the Right Perspective of Tattoos

My last two watercolor projects were a bit more difficult than usual. I decided I wanted to do a watercolor series of women with tattoos. I didn't realize how hard it would be to draw images that looked as if they realistically flowed with the natural dips and curves of the human body. I in no way perfected it, but I personally think I got it close enough to pass off as being abstract.


Tattoo by ~SarahSlam on deviantART

Tree Tattoo by ~SarahSlam on deviantART

My main focus with my recent art is to draw most of the attention to the eyes, which I believe I was still able to capture with the above artworks...
I'm now working on a new drawing of a woman with a full chest piece and it's much harder than I imagined it would be. I ignorantly thought it would be easy but the curves of the collarbone and the roundness of the chest in general are really hard to convey.
But, I will keep working on it until I am at least abstractly satisfied. haha.
I'll post the finished product soon. :)

My art area

Rainbobo The Clown: watercolor

Ah, what a breath of fresh air after the last epic watercolor fail from my previous post.


Rainbobo The Clown by ~SarahSlam on deviantART

This was a fun piece to create. Mostly because I completely intended to create a soft emotional feel by painting a girl with deep blue eyes and flowy dark hair.

Well half way through, this painting took on a life of itself and just kinda guided my hand to create what it wanted to become...
Ok, enough artsy fartsy flakiness, this is by far the creepiest artwork I've done I think.

It was created on 140lb paper using cheap Crayola brand watercolors with the exception of the red which was Loew-Cornell?? I'm not sure if that's cheap or not. I'm a self taught artist therefore I have no idea how to properly use any art medium. Enjoy and hopefully it wont(will) give you nightmares.

Watercolor FAIL!

A friend of mine suggested I post some of my failures.
Although I'd like to mislead everyone into thinking I'm some awesome artist who never creates a horrible work of art, I decided to lift my veil and reveal the hideous face of truth... (ignore that last analogy)
So here it is... the horrible watercolor. Keep in mind, I didn't finish it. I knew in the beginning as I was laying down the blue wash that I wasn't going to like it and I guess that attitude stuck with me until I called it quits.

I didn't give much real effort. It felt more like when I was in highschool and I waited til the last few hours to complete an assignment I had two weeks to do. It was a half-ass effort and it showed. So, lesson here is if you're not feeling it, don't do it! Unless of course you have too... :P

In the House of Flies

In the House of Flies by ~SarahSlam on deviantART
I named this painting, "In the House of Flies" because while painting the hair I was listening to "Change (In the House of Flies) by Deftones. That's probably why it has a darkness to it.

Sugar Ants love Watercolors too!!!

Beware!
Sugar ants love Prang brand watercolors!

Recently sugar ants have taken over my craft area. They aren't in my kitchen that I usually leave less than spotless. They haven't infested my livingroom that has now become a combination of my diningroom/bedroom/collection for all Styrofoam cups with leftover sugary drinks and misc crumbs from previous meals. No, theses little black critters only want one thing, my best watercolors!!!! They don't bother with the Crayola brand watercolors, just my Prang!

I have no idea why sugar ants would be so attracted to the paint, but it's fun to squish them and see all the different colors smear out of their tiny little bodies. Muahahah!


I made a water/bleach solution and have been spraying their trails and every little gathering area of theirs. But they keep coming back. So, Mr. Prang has been sealed up tight in a zip-lock bag and tomorrow I shall buy weapons of mass ant destruction!
The Ant Apocalypse is coming....

My Tragic Talent

My artistic talent is like a plastic bag drifting in the wind; Although it's reusable, it gets tossed out into the wind floating from place to place, but it will never degrade.



I'm not having much luck in watercolors after my awesome self portrait. I've wasted four sheets of good quality watercolor paper. :\ My expectations must be too high.... All I can do is try again after each fail.

Watercolor Self Portrait!!!!

Yay! I'm so terribly, horribly, excruciatingly proud of myself! Haha

I absolutely love my first self portrait.

First, here is the photo of me I used as a reference:
Funky face, I know. I purposely wanted to look that way.

And with the inspiration and guidance from the lovely agnescecile (I have posted a video of hers before on a previous blog) I was able to create this:

Splatter and Drip. Awkward to say, but fun to do!

Watercolors are my new art fling.
Something is just so addicting about it's free flow, color blending, randomness, and my creative tooth is craving it so badly right now.
My favorite watercolor works are the abstract "grungy" splatter-all-over-the-place-then-draw-a-random-object(s)-right-smack-in-the-middle. So, I decided to practice the splatter and drip watercolor techniques. This is what I came up with:

Not too bad, huh? I wanted to draw a shoe because I was inspired by the catchy tune Pumped Up Kicks by Foster the People.

Watercolor Octopus!

BEFORE- sketch:



AFTER- finished watercolor and ink



I painted this on Canson XL Watercolor cold press 11 x 15" 140lb paper.

As you can see, I added the boy who is summoning the beast that was not present in the sketch. This image doesn't show about an inch from each side due to my scanner being too small. This was the first time I have used watercolors in three years, so I'm no expert.
I may redo it, but for now I'm decently happy with this one. :)

It was my idea FIRST!

Okay, maybe a giant octopus terrorizing a city isn't technically an original idea...


BUT what about a dream I had a few years ago about an octopus 100 stories tall summoned from outer space by a powerful young boy who seeks revenge on a city full of people who have hurt him.... Sounds unique, right???

Well I thought so, until one day I turn on Netflix and I watch a movie made in 2010 called "Monsters".

Six years after Earth has suffered an alien invasion a cynical journalist agrees to escort a shaken American tourist through an infected zone in Mexico to the safety of the US border.

"Alien" meaning octopuses. (No, I didn't give away anything because they have octopus images throughout the movie). There's even a point in the movie where the "aliens" are floating in the sky...... Although the plot is completely different from the dream I had, it still made me feel a little too late to express my dream as original. I have been hoping to one day either write or draw what I had dreamed but I never felt comfortable enough in my abilities to pull an awesome creation out of my butt to match the awesomeness I felt after waking from such an awesome vision.



Finally, today I decided to just force myself to sit down and create a sketch. I probably wasted five sheets from my sketch book to come out with a drawing I was happy with.

As you can tell, I still have A LOT of detail, color, and artsy fartsy what not left to do, but I'm super excited. I wanted to share the sketch before the final product, because honestly I have no idea what medium I want this to be created with....

Pen Art Collection: The Girl and Her Beast

This is a collection of three pen artworks created by ME :D. Its meaning is up to be interpreted into any message that a person feels when he or she sees it.

I don't really get too fancy with the pens I use. Usually I draw with a black Pilot Precise V5 needle rollerball pen. Sounds a bit fancy but it can be found at any main retailer in the school supply section.

But after a couple of years of using this pen and countless times of being frustrated with smearing the slow drying ink, I switched to using Sharpie Pen. The Sharpie pen's ink drys almost instantly so I don't have to worry about any random movements I make with my wrist...
I can say some of the integrity and gritty artsy fartsy-ness the V5 pen was able to produce doesn't really come out in the Sharpie Pen. Instead, the Sharpie gives it more of a non-messy kinda look.
Really I think it's all about someone's personal preference. I've seen some great artwork done with a Bic pen. So all power to saving money. :)

Inspirational Video #1

Thank a higher power for YouTube.

Anytime I need a little pick-me-up for my artistic motivation I just search the good ol' tube for amazing artists' instructional videos.

Today I searched for watercolor paintings and found two incredible artists.

First is Leilani Joy.


She is such an amazing artist. She not only shows step by step instructions but she also connects with her fans with a little introduction, verbally gives instructions as her artistic process is sped up on camera, and then ends it with a concluding small convo and final product. She has a whole series of videos so PLEASE check her out!
Leilani has a website, LeilaniJoy.com that links to her blog, facebook, and etsy shop.


The next artist I found while searching tutorials for abstract watercolor painting and came upon a mystically amazing artist, agnes-cecile.

Just so captivating. I'm actually speechless. I don't know how to even describe how I feel when I watch her videos.... Her websites don't give much info about her, sadly. But, there are a few youtube videos. She doesn't give verbal instructions, but she shows her artwork from beginning to end sped up.

I subscribed to both of these very talented ladies and for sure will be visiting their sites when I need extra enlightenment and motivation!!! ;D

I'm BACK!

Three months later....

Thanks to my intelligence and grace, I broke my laptop's screen by tripping on either a cord or a exercise weight (I can't remember) and ultimately kicking my laptop (that I so responsibly set on my living room floor).... Not only did I kick it, but I had to stomp on it to catch my balance or my face would've smashed into my entertainment center.... la sigh

Thankfully though, my computer still works except the screen. I found out it was going to cost 100 bucks plus labor to fix it. So after three long months, I bought a new monitor for $25 off of Craigslist.

So now I'm using my laptop as a keyboard and mouse. This is my new computer layout..
It's bulky and a little nonfunctional but it works for me. :D

By the way, there are some real flaky weirdos on craigslist. One guy was willing to trade video games for a $30 monitor. "Ok, cool", I thought in my naive little brain. "I have some games I can give up." But then he got extremely picky on what condition the games should be in, like to the extreme of not even the slightest blemish be on the case. Uh, should've mentioned that on your post, douche. I understand having standards, but if I was a collector and expected something to be perfect, I'd explain it to people on my post so I wouldn't waste my or someone else's time..... So I was like, "Dude, I'll just give you $30." Then he seemed real demanding on meeting up the same night I responded to his post. It was like 8 pm, could it not wait til the morning? So, I stopped responding to his emails. hehe...

Anyways, so I bought a monitor for only $25 from some other seemingly normal guy. We met at Ikea's parking lot, did the exchange, and no chainsaw or gun fight went down. :D

Fortunately, or unfortunately, I will get to post more random posts of my life.

Currently, I'm working on a new line of illustrations called "the aDORKabots". As the name implies, it will be a comic series of adorable dorky robots, dealing with everyday situations but just in a robot world.... Sounds totally cliche or lame, but I swear it's cute.
I'm also going to try watercolor as the artistic medium. So we'll see. I'm working on the first little illustration now and I'll post when it's complete.

Peace, muh nugga cheeses!!

Art prints from Kinkos

Yesterday was the first time I ever attempted to make art prints from one of my original artworks. I chose to go to Kinkos.

"Be a simple kind of man" by Sarah SLAM (Sarah Kee)

I only made copies of one drawing so I could get a good idea how much it would cost me to make prints of all my work.

I walked into Kinkos and right away an employee asked if he could help. I told him I needed to make copies of my original black ink art work on matte paper. He said, "Let me show you what I have" (regarding paper) and he handed me a shiny, untextured, card-stock which I totally didn't imagine my art being printed on.
I would've liked the paper selection if I was printing a photo but not so much for a "fine art" print.

But, being the shy and easy-going(*ahem* push-over) person that I am, I accepted the paper he picked out and asked for 5 copies. He made the copies for me, although I'm sure most people make their own copies considering it has a huge banner saying "Self Service Printing" hanging above the printers. As I said, it was my first time to go to Kinkos (or any print shop for that matter) and I had no idea how it worked. I don't even know if you can select your own paper and print it yourself??? If so, I'd love to pick out the paper I'd like to have my artwork printed on.

The guy was a bit awkward but he was nice.

The first copy looked bad. At first I thought the printer smudged the ink on the copy but then the Kinkos employee showed me my original and behold...WATER DAMAGE! I didn't notice before, but there was slight water damage at the end of my artwork. (The picture I posted was taken before the damage and taken by camera phone). How the hell did that happen?

Later, when I went home, I looked at an image of the artwork I scanned with my home scanner and realized there was water damage before I brought it to Kinkos... So I can't blame anyone but myself, but I still can't think of how it was possible... I kept it in what I thought to be a "safe, dry place". Pfffttt... fml.
Aside from the water damage being my fault, there were two other blots on the copies that were NOT present on my art work. They weren't severe and I just accepted them because at this point I'm already in shock from my art being damaged.
He finished printing out the other four copies and rang up the cost. It was only $1.10 to print black and white copies on card-stock so I wasn't too displeased... at that point.

After looking at the copies some more I noticed a small fraction of the art was cut off at the bottom (but still not enough to hide the damage). As you can see above, there is a lot of room on the top of the art, and the card-stock was the same size as my original artwork. So, I guess he didn't take the time to make sure it was centered and I was so occupied with trying to figure the smudges that I totally missed it.
I'm so displeased with the prints that I won't even give them away for free.... So, I decided to come home and edit my artwork on photoshop. I fixed the smudges and shrunk the image so it would fit an 8x10 paper with at least .5in margin on each side.

"Be a simple kind of man" by Sarah SLAM (Sarah Kee) Edited version

Tonight I will try to print this new edited version out on textured matte paper and see if my impression of Kinkos can be redeemed...
I'm not totally blaming Kinkos for everything. They're a chain print shop and I honestly don't expect more or less...

"Put your money where your mouth is... Then choke on it!" by Sarah Slam (Sarah Kee)

I drew this artwork after I was forced to drop out of college due to no financial aide. The school put me on a monthly pay plan to get me enrolled and I was promised that I would be reimbursed for any money I had to pay before the FAFSA money came in. Well, every time I called to check up on my aide, they had some lame excuse for not having my money. FAFSA is my only hope in going to school without collecting a tremendous amount of debt. So, I was forced to drop out with only a couple of months left of a semester....
So, this drawing is for Odessa College and there lousy, unhelpful, and rude financial aide office staff.

I'm a bit impartial about going to school for art anyways. I've watched tons of documentaries on artists who most have degrees but their art styles are so very very different from one another. What's the point in dishing out thousands of dollars if in the end you're going to do what you want regardless if your art teacher hated it or not??....
I guess it must be for the connections... I bet having a prestigious art school on your resume is easier to convince that your art deserves a spot on the wall.
I also noticed these artists had studios in the major cities and such... Must be nice...
I dont know, I think I'm doing pretty well teaching myself, thank you very much.

Ok, I'm done with this rant for today.

Art print created by sunnychampagne; $16

Lately I've been feeling much too crowded in my little craft area. There are two desks, 6ft bookshelf, an aquarium (containing by wonderful turtle, Carah), the kitchen trash can, and other misc things all crammed into an 8ft x 8ft space....
My boyfriend and I only live in a small one bedroom apartment so there isn't much space for any average couple with our same living conditions to have room for an entertainment center, much less an art studio.

But thankfully, we aren't the average couple. :D

For some reason, we haven't used our bedroom for anything more than a catch-all space. It's an "empty" room that looks like a clothes bomb went off... twelve times. haha.
We sleep on a twin sized day bed in the living room.
"A twin size for two people?!", you may have gasped.
Yes, we have been sleeping on a twin mattress together for over a year now. We are cuddlers. :D
Really though, we had this idea that when we go back to our home town, we'll ship our full size bed here... Well, it's been a year and we've gone back at least four times....

In faith that we may never actually use our bedroom, I will now convert it into my shipping/packaging/drawing room. The painting will stay in the dining room because tile is easier to clean than carpet. O.o

That's what I'm doing today....

Also, I have a great art idea. I just need a projector. Anybody know where I can get one of those for cheap?

Sail by Awolnation

My current obsession!



If I was a stripper this would be my money makin, titty shakin, earth quakin', "O" fakin, leaves rakin, candy takin, baby wakin song :D

I'm cereal!

It's time for me to get serious about my art.

I always blamed my lack of motivation on my home town.
Oh how cliche! A small town girl feels stuck in her slumpy home town and dreams of life in the big city... Just another twit with a blog, huh?

In all fairness though, my home city is full of redneck, roughneck, far right believers in which a good percentage absolutely do not care about art(unless it was a painting of a pump-jack or an oil well, or maybe if it was painted with petroleum.) The entire economy is based on the oil-industry, if that doesn't say enough. So, if the rest of the world's economy is hurting you bet your ass my home town is flourishing!
Look, my home town is known world-wide for four things;

1. Friday Night Lights, a movie and a tv series based on highschool football... A cliche Texan favorite.
2. A Lifetime movie "The Client List" based on the Healing Touch Massage Parlor's prostitution scandal, which involved the arrest of many high status men of that county... Yeah, sad right?
3. Sister city of former President George Bush's birth place.. nuff said.
   
4. And a reality tv show "Black Oil".

What an amazing thing to be a part of, right?

I always dreamed of moving to Austin, TX where the music is loud and free, the culture is alive and vibrant, nerds and hippies are part of the "it" crowd, and art is highly recognized as a beautiful part of humanity.
But... then I moved to Austin, TX last year. My ideal rainbow image of a beautiful art metropolis has been shadowed with clouds made from the evaporated piss of millions of raging environmentalists. They really like to rain on everyone's parade...
BTW, don't bring jalapeno poppers made with veggie bacon to a vegetarian potluck, because more than likely you're gonna have one angry vegan there to give you the stank eye because "there is such a thing as vegan cream cheese, ya know?".... I guess I got confused, the invitation said vegetarian but they must have meant vegan. I guess it's a hipster mind connection where they are capable of communicating their pretentiousness, much like the Borg.



I thought moving to this city would bring out my extrovert personality that was just waiting for the right opportunity to unleash, but realistically I'm an introvert.
I gave too much hope into a physical place when I should have realized it's not about where I'm living, it's all about how I choose to live.

So, my main point here is I've been waiting around for a sign or a "spark" of enlightenment when I realized that chaos is my muse. I was very artistic in a place that shunned art. When I sought out for comfort in a place that I thought would understand me, I was let down and thus became artistic once again.


That's what this blog is about. I will be blogging my self-taught artistic journey.