New #owl Sketches!

As the summer is coming to a close, it suddenly hit me that the holidays will soon be upon us, and I thought, "UH OH."

Because it was in my plans to have a calendar full of new art for 2013! I haven't created anything frame-worthy for a while due to working on Little Raindrop's book, so it sort of feels like I haven't accomplished much this year. 

Now I'm scrambling to get twelve new pieces done in time...and hopefully done well! 

In the meantime, I've been ordering mats and prints of my work so I can sell them starting in November. I'll be getting my Society6 store ready for online orders as well. I'm not good with the shipping/post office thing, so I'll leave that up to them. And I should probably clean up my CafePress shop, too...

Here are some of the sketches I've done so far, (the good, the bad, and the ehhhh):

There is a theme to this new calendar... but I won't tell you what it is! It's going to be a surprise! (And I don't mean the obvious!)

ttfn!

Lessons From a Mouse (a famous one!)

Hello hello!

As you've probably noticed...I've been away for a couple of weeks. Hubs and I were stocking up on rest and relaxation, good food, good company, and good fun in sunny California. We visited family in San Francisco, friends in Santa Barbara, drove through horrid traffic in LA, and hung out with a mouse in Anaheim! It was a fantastic trip, but I didn't leave without getting a lesson about making my dreams come true. (Good 'ol Walt pulls it off every time!)

You know it... we went to Disneyland!

We not only got to visit THE Disneyland, the place where Walt Disney actually walked and took a chance on his dreams, be we also visited the Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco, where we learned all about Walt's many successes, and many failures.

Failures?!? Yep. Failures. And LOTS of hard work.

You see, Walt Disney started working when he was about 7 years old (or maybe 8? I'm bad at remembering numbers...) where he trudged through the snow on his father's paper route. He sold his drawings to friends and neighbors. He worked for a cannery, boxing up jams and things. He worked on a train selling food and the news to passengers. He worked for the Red Cross, because he wasn't able to get into the military. And he worked hard enough to earn himself a scholarship at the Kansas City Art institute. This all happened before he turned twenty! (And there is plenty more I'm forgetting to tell you about!)

After graduation, Walt and his college buddy Ub Iwerks then started a small animation company (yay!) that ended up going bankrupt (boo!). So they moved to Hollywood and worked on the "Alice Comedies" instead, (yay!) which eventually died off (boo). Then he invented a character called Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, who was successful (yay!) but the rights were stolen from Walt (boo!).

And you know what he had to say about that?

Walt decided that they could KEEP Oswald...he was going to make something BETTER. He was going to show them who was boss!

And then came along Mickey Mouse! (You tell 'em, Walt!)

Fast forward to many successful years later when Walt sat down on a park bench with his children, and decided he wanted his own theme park. A CLEAN one, mind you, where people could go for some serious fun. And thus began his quest to build Disneyland.

After the completion of the park, though, Walt soon realized it wasn't enough. Maybe it had been for the guests, but not for Walt. He wanted to block out the sounds of traffic, the city skyline, and create a bigger separation from the World and Reality. He wanted a place where guests could truly get away from work and lost in another world. So he moved on, kept improving, and he started building Disney World.

Unfortunately, he didn't get to see that dream to completion. Walt passed away before Disney World opened. But he sure did change the world, didn't he? Take these quotes, for example:

There are far more up and downs in Walt's crazy, amazing life history. I'm not going to get into them all. But the biggest lesson here is to always be striving for the best, for the next big step, for moving forward and not looking back. No matter how many trips or falls we have, just dust off your pants and keep moving along.

Just like Mickey Mouse does!

I wanna be like Mickey... can't you tell?

Operation Work Office/Studio Space!

Hello!

Two weeks ago, I talked about making some new goals for organizing my life. One of those goals includes organizing my life when I'm at work, off the clock, but working on other stuff. AKA "Work Studio Time."

Normally, I hide in the smallest dining room in our little restaurant, ear buds full of music, and work on Little Raindrop... whether it be editing, drawing, or researching. But a lot of the time, regular customers will come in and ask for me, or family or friends will stop by, or even co-workers who should know better, and I'm constantly getting interrupted!

Not that I'm being ungrateful for the company, but really... I'm trying to work!

Many ask, "Why are you even THERE at your job when you should be at home in your studio?!" Because, most importantly, I prefer to be sure that Hubs gets to and from work in one piece. When he's really tired, he'll fall asleep at the wheel. The forty five minute drive from home to work is one straight line with a few lights, and at night there are hardly any streetlamps and there are tons of deer and other wildlife that we are constantly swerving around. It's better to have four eyes than two, and we both know this from experience. How many times have one of us not seen the animal, but the other one did, and just in time? Too many.

My other reason is this: when no one bothers me, I actually get a TON of work done! I'm not distracted by laundry or television or napping. The only other thing to do there is more work...but of a different kind. And I'm sure as heck not going to go wait on tables when I could be making a book.

So I got an idea last week. There was a private party coming in, and they were going to use the small room where I usually work, so I needed a quiet spot for myself. I went snooping around and found a cozy spot in the storage room behind the bar...

This room needs some organization!
Follow the chair...

...to my new spot!

Not a lot of working space, and the view's pretty rotten,
but it's SO quiet back here!

It worked like a charm, being in that cozy storage space. Much like a Cupboard Under the Stairs, I could live in my own little bubble, get what I needed done, then step out into the real world and I'm out of my working zone!

Then I realized how dysfunctional my working space was. I needed more space, more boundaries from the alcohol, and holy heck was this room a mess. So I took it upon myself to tidy up, and make my space a nice little nest!

Behind that wall of soda cans is my cardboard barrier...

I covered the splintery shelves with cardboard...
and now there's a cozy little nook!

Just add some books... and...
VOILA!

Close up shop with a cardboard flap!

Now I know it's rough around the edges, but it works for me! And Hubs is going to be making it so I have access to a plug, and some lighting! And little by little, I'll make it feel more at home. :)

I've already worked in here for a few hours, so the space is fully functional for my needs! Finally, a way to check "out" of the real world so I can dive into Little Raindrop's world!

Doodle Fun: Stuff I Draw on People's Leftovers, Part 1

I do this thing at my waitressing job, where I draw little doodles onto people's leftover boxes to surprise them when they get home and see it. And it occurred to me that I should be taking snapshots of such doodles, because I happen to like the things I have drawn. (I've missed some that I've drawn in the past, and it makes me sad!) So I have this album on my personal Facebook profile, called "(Stuff) I Draw on People's Leftovers" and I thought it would be nice to share it here, on my blog!

I must warn you: these doodles are done in seconds, without adjustments, taken by a not so awesome cell phone camera, and under pressure because I'm wrapping up food and doing all the other things a waitress does at her job. So some things are messy and most are not perfect. It's just something I do to make myself happy because I'm drawing, and to make the customer happy, too.

So here they are... Enjoy! :)

This is one I drew on paper for a customer while he ate!

hers

and his

Teasing someone...

The CLAW!

Otterly cute!

I Love Broccoli, or Trees.

Someone was being nutty.

They were about to go on a cruise!

The female's leftovers.

Peach the kitten!

Abominable snowman, though it was supposed to be a Wookie.

So the mom wouldn't forget to get the book for her kid!

A fan of Pooh, but no time to draw a whole bear!

This guy got sunburned red like a lobster!

And his faithful Ghost!

Well, that's all for tonight, Folks! :)