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Spring..oh how I want thee!!

This has been a crazy winter here in north Texas. We got a record 12 inches of snow. It was an awesome snowman building-snowcream making-play all day in kind of snow!

The past couple of days have seen blue skies and lifting spirits. I am quite ready for some normal Texas weather.

I've been quiet on the art front lately but not un-busy. I've moved my studio to an upstairs room in my house. The new space is smaller but better organized! My walls still serve as a gallery but not as concentrated in those front rooms.

Spring Special

Become a Fan on my Facebook page and get 20% off any Limited Edition Print.

If you are already a fan, that’s ok..you can have the discount too! If you don’t want a print..become a fan anyway! I’m hoping to move to less e-mails..more “quick updates” via Fan page and Twitter. I’ll run this special through June 1^st..art makes a great Mother’s Day gift!

Art News

I've become an artist of the digital age. My website has all my information about large paintings, Pet Portraits and Limited Edition Prints. Cobalt Blue Dreams is my Etsy shop showcasing smaller artworks, collages, and prints. My Facebook Fan Page has more information about paintings and gets updates when I post new art to the website or Etsy.

My goal is to have an easy way to browse my art in a low pressure environment. I am always available to answer any questions about my artwork or commissions.The digital environment has lowered much of my overhead costs as opposed to selling via the art festivals. I have passed these savings along in lower prices of all artwork except commissions. Since commissioned artwork is not "pre-made" prices are determined differently anyway. My hope is that by making art more affordable, more people will be able to enjoy original artwork in their lives.

I hope weather wherever you are is getting pleasant. Enjoy this little guy who is a familiar site to me in the spring and summer. Dragonfly 4 is 5" x 7" acrylic painting over art tissue paper and is priced at $17. This artwork can be purchased here.

Blow off the Dust

Art

Woosh! Fall has flown in at the speed of falling leaves! I can't believe how long it has been since I've even been able to THINK about this blog!

I wanted to share a painting I did for the Dallas/Ft. Worth Lab Rescue Club's annual fundraiser this coming weekend. Ready? is a 10" x 10" acrylic and will be available via silent auction this Sunday at the Sporting Chance Golf Tournament in The Colony.

If you can, head out to The Colony this weekend and support a really great group dedicated to improving the lives of our little furry friends.

I've updated my Etsy shop CobaltBlueDreams with some brilliant fall paintings like Two Pumpkins, a 5" x 7" acrylic. I must love orange more than I thought because I've got quite a few pieces in fall colors (or maybe I just miss having a colorful fall like my home state..North Carolina!)

Life

I've been busy..busy..busy lately with school. As much as I love to read (and I'm pretty darn fast!) I'm have quite a time keeping up with the volumes of reading assignments. I'm not complaining though because I absolutely love it! The biggest draw back is not having time in the studio as much as I'd like. I'm settling into a routine though and looking forward to some upcoming commissions and working on some new painting ideas.

This weekend I'll be doing my first ever bike really for the Make-a-Wish Foundation. I'm not ready for the 100k yet, but a friend and I will be doing the 30 mile portion of the course. We've been training for this all summer and I'm really excited!

Enjoy the cooler weather and stop to take time to enjoy the changes around you!

The Art of Words

Maybe I'm just gearing up for going back to college mode or maybe I'm just acknowledging my inner writer that has always been present, but I'm starting to merge writing into my art career.

Facebook Fanpage

First..a shameless plug for my new Fan Page. I originally created my first Facebook page as another marketing tool, like my website. As I quickly connected with friends, both old and new, I decided I really didn't want complete strangers seeing so much information about my life, especially my kids' lives. So I took the link off my e-mail signature, closed down the privacies and didn't worry about it. Then along came Fan pages..even better! Now I do both..keep up with friends and have a spot for my art! So..if you reading this on my blog..just look to the right for the button to my fan page. If you are reading this in a reader, click here to join my fan page.

The Writing

First, I'm now a writer (yes..paid writer!) for a website called Empty Easel, which is a magazine/blog for artists to help with both creating artwork and selling artwork. If you look down at the bottom on the right side..I'm even listed as a "EE writer!" My first series is all about teaching art to kids. I've been teaching art to kids in some form for over 10 years now with the last 3 years in my own studio. If you like to know how I got started or how to get started yourself, read Teaching Art to Kids for Fun and Profit: Part 1 - Is this for Me? The title is a little tongue and cheek humor but the content is serious stuff! Part 2 will be published in a couple of weeks.

The Poetry

Second, I'm starting to integrate the printed word in to my artwork. I've written poetry for years (first publication..6th grade yearbook!) but lately I've re-awakened my interest in haikus. It started, oddly enough, with the workout website I blog on.. SocialWorkout.com when the May challenge was titled "Push ups, Handstands, and Haikus: 26 Days. No Tears." Well..I didn't do any pushups or handstands but I started writing haikus for each workout. It was silly but fun. If you really love haikus or you are really bored..feel free to read them. I am Tsitra on that site.

May ended and I still had the urge to write haikus. So I bought a little journal, attached a pen and started writing. Bits of imagery started to work its way into the journal so I started playing around with collage elements and Pocket Poetry was born. The first three are pictured here and on Etsy.

I have visions of making some small, limited-edition prints of these both original size (7" x 5") and as ACEOs but I'm still researching printers (any advice?). To purchase any of these just click on the photo and it will take you to my Etsy shop.

Summer Heat Too Much? Fast Forward to Fall

Here is Dallas it is a toasty 100 degrees and has been (plus or minus a few degrees) for most of the past 2 months. I'm still uploaded artwork from my bins to my Etsy shop so I decided to give myself a visual cool front and pulled out fall and winter themed work. These are all pastels and watercolors and most are small, collectible and affordable.

So sit back, listen to the leaves crunching under your feet and feel a cool breeze whispering by. Enjoy! To view larger or to purchase, please click on a painting.

The Summer of Projects

This is the first summer I've not taught art classes in several years. My husband and I decided that with me going to graduate school this Fall, it would be good to take some time off to "get things in order." Basically..that means 10 bazillion, gillion projects! Some are husband-requested, some are blatant neglects that have been piling up, and some are just self-inflicted. However you look at it..I've got lots to do!

Artistically Speaking

First..Fall Class Schedule will be out VERY SOON! I already know the schedule..I'm just cleaning up my mailing list before I send it out.

I'm still uploading art to my Etsy shop - CobaltBlueDreams. I can't believe how much smaller work I've done. It all fits so nice and compact in the bins! I also want to get some more notecards and small prints done. I'm in the "research" phase right now but some smaller Affordable Art will be out soon.

I'm also going to be a writer for Empty Easel, an on-line magazine/blog for artists. My first article Teaching Art to Kids for Fun and Profit: Part 1, Is this for You? will be published next week.

Will I create any new art? Summer is usually my slowest time for painting..the kids are home and when I pick up a paintbrush..they descend upon me like flies to honey! BUT....I'm working on a new collage series and I have some totally awesome photos of jellyfish from an aquarium in North Carolina that are begging to be painted..I mean begging! To the left is The Pursuit, an 14" x 11" mixed-media collage that I finished at the beginning of summer.

Moving that Body

I'm still working on Social Workout's Feats of Summer Challenge. So far I've worked out 11 days since Summer Solstice (June 21st) and completed the cartwheel feat (my mom has some amusing videos of this..hopefully she'll never really figure out how to use You Tube!) You can check out my workout blogging here.

On the Homefront

We decided this spring to add a pool to our backyard. This was something we've wanted for years and finally feel like our children are old enough that we don't need to panic if we hear the back door open. The building of the pool itself has been wonderfully problem free thanks to the great crews of Riverbend Sandler Pools. It's all the stuff around the pool I've been responsible for..affordable furniture, bags & bags of mulch (50 so far!), plantings and the upcoming 'laying of the sod!"

I've also got lot of little things I've "been meaning to get to" all over my house, like hanging curtains in the bedroom, bathroom, etc. I've had the supplies for a lot of these projects, just not the time to do them.

Lots going on so I'd better get off the computer and get busy!

The Pursuit, mixed-media collage, 14" x 11", available on CobaltBlueDreams

Body Image Evolution

This post was going to originally be titled "Body Evolution" and discuss how my body has changed over time. Given my new found obsession with physical activity, I feel a post explaining its origins could be fun...also embarrassing and a little painful...but still..fun! After digging through 36 years of photos, I realized my body did not change much..but my mind's image of my body did.

For my entire life I have viewed myself as fat. Not hugely obese, but not attractive either. By my "whole life" I do mean all the way back as far as I can remember..I thought I was fat. Yes, I had some "chubby" moments, but at no time was I really, really fat. Let's start at the beginning, this blurry photo clearly shows some cute little rolls on my arms..but nothing to be alarmed over. I even remembered this pictured differently. I told some friends last week who have the immense pleasure of being new parents that I could show them a picture of a fat baby. Hm..guess not.

Next is an equally blurry picture of me when I was about 7 or 8. This was about the age I really started to consider myself "fat." I think my body image was created around this time by a combination of my peers and a belief in stereotypes. For most of my school years I was 2 years younger than all my peers. Being labeled "smart" also came with the label "bookworm" (which I was definitely was!) and athletic just didn't get added to my image. It didn't help that not only was I younger, I was also short even for kids my own age!

Around 9-11 is when I really felt physically inadequate. I was always the kid to be picked last for kickball, I got "Most Improved" on the 6th grade softball team...you get the picture. I was sure I was a whale at this point in my life..but, again, reality is not so fat..although I am loving the flipped hair and rolled cuffs!

The next picture is from what I call my only "normal" era. The summer between 9th and 10th grade I had my "growth spurt." I shot up a whopping 2 inches to bring me to my current height of 5'2" (if I'm standing really, really straight) and I concurrently lost about 10 pounds. That is also the time in my life when I really discovered physical activity. I got a 10 speed bike and was given the freedom to ride it about anywhere I wanted to in our little suburban town of Clemmons, North Carolina. I also joined the girls soccer team in 9th grade and discovered the joy of running. In 10th grade I completed my first race - the Titan 5 miler (I came in 2nd place..but only because there were only 2 girls competing..still I was proud!). Look at this photo of me at about 13..no fat..yet I was sure I was huge, especially my stomach! Oh..I'm making a weird face because that innocent looking cat had made a swipe at the fish I caught, only he missed and scratched my leg!

Fast forward a few years, I stayed with running and switched to tennis in high school (moved to new high school in 11th grade..no soccer) so I felt fairly fit. The last two years of high school was probably the most confident I ever felt about my body. Then after a too-young pregnancy and some non-supportive people in my life, my self-esteem plummeted. Here is me at around 20 or 21. My self-consciousness at there being a picture taken of me in a swimsuit is almost painful. See my hand trying to cover up my (in my mind) extremely fat stomach? The cutie next to me is my first-born. Needless to say, most pictures during this era of my life were of her!

During 1995 I was the heaviest I've ever been outside of being pregnant. I quit smoking at the beginning of the year (best health move ever!!) , graduated college (no more multi-mile daily walks to class, parking lot, etc), and got a desk job. The combination of the three sent my weight up rather quickly and I signed up for my first "commercial" diet program, The Diet Center, and tried to get active again with roller-blading, tennis, and sporadic running. The funny part is that although I'm obviously over weight, I viewed myself as being about double that size. Side-note: The painting I'm standing beside is an original by my favorite painter, Toulouse-Lautrec at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.

During the next 10 years, I had 2 more kids so I gained and lost more weight than I cared to think about. After baby number 3, a friend convinced me to join Weight Watchers which I've been a member of off and on for since including now. I also have read about a zillion books on health, fitness, nutrition, etc. I'm a bit of a health food freak at times but I live a normal life with its usual temptations. I've also become an avid runner (between baby 2 and baby 3), joined several gyms, played a couple of seasons of adult soccer, and even belly-danced for a few years. I've grown more confident in my body's abilities, but I've always felt "fat." I was 32 when this picture was taken, certainly curvy..but not fat.

Now, as I still struggle with reaching my "ideal" weight (20 lbs lower than I am right now) I am fascinated that I am probably in physically the best shape I've been in since high school. I did a 10+ mile hike with scouts in February, I exercised 26 of 31 days in May, I'm getting my running back up to par (knee surgery in 2005 slowed me down a few years) and I'm training to do a 30 mile bike ride with a friend this October. I eat a fairly healthy, varied diet (although I am a sucker for good beer and chips & salsa) and health-fully home-cook probably 90% of my family's meals. So why am I so obsessed with a number on the scale or on our clothing tag? I asked my husband.."Why did I think I was fat all my life?" his reply, "Because you're a girl." Extremely sad, but probably true.

This is a photo of me taken 3 days ago, sorry for the odd angle but it is the most recent photo of me. Again..not fat. I'll never be mistaken for a fashion model or Olympic athlete, but not too shabby for 36. I'm also starting to work harder at and celebrate each 5 minutes I add to my run more than a pound lost on the scales. After 36 years I'm finally starting to realize, I'm FIT not FAT!

Tomorrow on Summer Solstice I am starting the SocialWorkout.com 's Feats of Summer Challenge. This is the same site that did the 26 Days in May Challenge. They've added some pretty serious stuff, definitely aimed at the under 36-not had 3 kids crowd. But, I'm going to give it a try. I may not complete 20 of the Feats as required, but I'll celebrate each one I can do.

I'd love some encouragement and teamwork during this Summer Challenge, either virtually or in real-life. If you are planning on doing the challenge, let me know and we'll keep each other motivated!