Back In The Saddle Again

Well I can't believe it's been almost a year since I created this website and blog! I sure haven't been very dilligent with updating the blog posts. I did, however, update the links as I added Zazzle to my group of online stores. I haven't been great at keeping up with Zazzle either. Hopefully that will change along with my lack of upkeep here. My only excuse for both is that it has been a very busy summer and a somewhat emotional one too. I am extremely pleased with the design I created for this whole site. Very subdued. I normally go for bright and vibrant colors but then I have always had somewhat of a vibrant personality. That could be changing with age. I create the Zazzle shop with lots of bright pink and now I look at it and wonder "What was I thinking?" so I expect to do a complete overhaul of that site too. As colorful as I can get I have never been a 'Pink Person'. Red - most certainly, but never pink, yet there it is, as bold as can be.

So this whole website is going to keep that neutral tone just so I don't shock the world. Or maybe this nasty old world might need a little shock therapy to get back on track. Who knows. Certainly the awful things that have been happening of late hasn't installed a 'Can Do' spirit in my heart. It has actually removed that irritating part of my psyche that always believed there is never anything so bad that a possitive attitude can't fix.

We'll see. If I can keep up the posts and if time can correct it's course in the world I might once again adopt that lust for life. For now I will settle for 'Just happy to be alive' while I try to mind my own bussiness. Not an easy feat. I promise you.

One of the things that has changed in my life is the purchase of an Ipad. I got it because I wanted to learn a little more of my artistic world. I have perfected Photoshop to the point where I am very confident with it's use and since we always need to be learning and keeping that spark of creativity I decided to take up another form of digital art. That is digital painting. I already had the tablet and stylus that I am pretty good with so I got an app for my desk top called Rebelle 7. Big mistake! Talk about being out of my element! So that quickly got scrapped yet at the same time I found I have less and less of my own photography to work with.

We are just too busy around the place to go out on our leisurely drives like we used to do and when we do go out Bob, my husband, has a rather heavy foot. Unless his speedy drives down the backroads feel a little too uncomfortable for me, I can't find a way to tell him he is traveling too fast to see anything worth photographing. It all just goes by as a blur. When we get home he will say something like "You didn't take any pictures!" there is no way I will come back with the truth that I couldn't see anything at the speeds we were travelling. It would just make him feel bad.

Most of my digital art was created by my own photographs and many times I would just upload the photo itself. When we lived in Niagara I was always out on the road by myself. Bob worked long days and weeks so I had to go out sight seeing alone most times. Now we are in the maritimes I don't feel so comfortable to go out on my own any more. I could get lost so easily and besides, when we moved we sold my little car and driving that big truck of his is just not comfortable at all for me. Besides, it would offend him to no end if I got in the car for an outting on my own. We tend to do everything as a couple these days since his retirement. Don't get me wrong, I love having him there, but it has meant readjusting my whole way of life. We don't have the same techniques and it is usually my ways that get scrapped. Anyways this has lead me to understand that I needed to create a new artisic adventure and I started exploring AI Art more and more. I have been using what I create for sales but there are times I feel that I should be really trying to create my own. Thus the Ipad! I got it in the spring and installed Procreate. I was learning on that and things were going pretty well. There is a lot to learn. Then I didcovered Adobe Fresco. I can use the work I create in there and move it to photoshop on my desktop if I want to so I scrapped Procreate and picked up Fresco and Capture. I haven't learned much on Capture yet but one thing at a time. As I get older my ability to retain what I learn isn't so easy. I just need to be repeditive to learn. Fortunately, as we age repetiveness comes naturally. hahaha My intent is to slowly, in time, scrap uploading AI art that I clean up myself and start uploading hand drawn and painted work that I create from AI art. I only need to perfect sketching and painting now. Easy Peasy! hahaha On the plus side - I am really enjoying this new adventure. I love my new Ipad and I can see a future with this whole process. I just need some time. Also my sales are doing pretty good in both FAA and Redbubble so as long as the sales keep coming I have the time I need to improve my own skills and change the course of my styles. Here is a sample of what I am working on now. This is a basic start for me but here is Morty Mouse. I named him because I just felt inclined to do so when I createde him in AI. He is simple and sweet. I might remove the background on the original and sell it as tranparent but for now I am using him to train myself. The second image is my hand drawn version of Morty. The lines aren't as sharp and pronounced as the original and I painted him in watercolor fashion. He isn't pefect and I certainly won't be selling him but I think he turned into a good first effort. Remember he is just the first step in a long journey to follow. I am pleased enough with him to share here. Actually I am rathert proud of my first attempt to sketch anything.

So whatcha think of Morty Mouse? Move over Monet?

So with that I will end this post with a promise to come back next week to give you a little more insight into my world. I promise, life in these woods can be pretty interesting. I will touch on that a lot in this blog. All my best Leslie