Mimi's NaNoWriMo Pep Song and more paintings

"Ghosty Bunny": acrylics on 4" x 4" canvas board.

My NaNoWriMo Song is up on the NaNoWriMo site; it's near the end of WrimoRadio Episode 3 podcast. It's being sung by Jodi Krangle and Allison Durno, my music partners in Urban Tapestry, with musical accompaniment provided by Scott Snyder. Jodi (who sings lead on the song) has just started doing voice-over work, by the way. If you're looking for voice talent, do check out her voice over talent page.

Many thanks to Scott for the music. Because I was pressed for time (I KNOW I KNOW THIS IS NO EXCUSE) I had to do the recording in a hurry but realized too late that the voices were spiking (too loud) in a couple of places. Plus I forgot to turn off a clicking noisemaker-thingy that's supposed to (but failing) to keep the squirrels out of my walls. Anyway, I begged Scott to come up with some accompaniment that would downplay the problems -- THANK YOU, SCOTT!

Anyway, I've posted the lyrics to Mimi's NaNoWriMo Pep Song on Inkygirl, if you're interested.


"Smiley Fish": acrylics on 5" x 3" canvas board.

I did a few more mini-paintings last night, which I've posted on this page. The ones above are for sale in my Esty store as of this morning. If you click on either image, you'll be taken to the Etsy page of that particular image; I've added a description of how each was created.

The one below has already been sold; I call it "Moongazing." I like the moongazing idea, so may do a few more along that theme. I went to an art store last night and bought some 6" x 6" stretched canvases as well as more of the mini canvas boards. I *love* art stores...yes, even more than office supply stores! I also bought a small table easel so I don't have to hunch over at my craft table when I'm painting.



"Moongazing." Acrylics on 5" x 3" canvas board.

I've started a gallery page of acrylics paintings I've done so far. These pieces are WAY fun to do. To keep them fun, I've decided not to take commissions (at least for a while); a couple of you have inquired about that. Much of the joy for me is sitting down with a blank canvas and deciding what to paint on the spot.

The orange fish painting, for example, was because I wanted to try out a new orange paint I bought in the art store last night. I painted two orange blobs on the background blue, then decided to turn the blobs into fish.

Though I will continue to do most of my artwork digitally, I do admit that I get enormous satisfaction out of swirling REAL paint around on a canvas.

Any other artist-types out there? If so, what's your favourite medium or media? And do you prefer working digitally or with non-digital materials?

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David Francey, Etsy, and Star Trek movie auditions

Above: David Francey demonstrates how he dances ("just plant your feet on the floor and make sure they don't move") during his concert with Craig Werth at Hugh's Room on Sunday night.

Jeff and I went to the David Francey concert at Hugh's Room with Tom, Sue, Walter and Trish. You can read my post about the concert on blogTO: David Francey: Story and Song at Hugh's Room. This is my first music-oriented post on blogTO; I was hired mainly for the Restaurants and Books/Lit section, but was told that it was ok if I occasionally posted in Music. BlogTO doesn't focus much on folk music, so we'll see how this goes over (fingers crossed).

Anyway, please do go over and take a look if you're interested; I know there are folk music fans out there. If this post gets enough traffic, then that'll help justify more folk music posts. :-)



I found out about David Francey from Dave Clement and Tom Jeffers. Dave and I perform "Torn Screen Door" in open filk sometimes, and Dave and Tom have been kind enough to invite me to do "Saints and Sinners" with them in concert from time to time.

David Francey, Sue and Tom:



The lighting in Hugh's Room was pretty dim; I never would have been able to get the following photo without flash if I didn't have a low-light lens like my Sigma 30/1.4:



Walter brought his Rebel, too, and you can see his photos in Flickr. Here's one I especially liked:




Thanks so much to Tom and Sue for organizing this outing!


Thanks, by the way, to the positive response to my new Etsy site. I put three items online and was floored when they all sold within 24 hours (!) of opening my little online shop. THANK YOU. I mailed them off yesterday and might work on a few more this weekend.

Links O' The Day:

JuicyFruits: Oh dear...another addictive webcomic. I love the whimsical style of this artwork! I only wish I could read Japanese so I could appreciate the blog entries. (thanks to aep for the link)

To you Californians out there: So how many of you tried out for the new Star Trek movie? (thanks to Nunscio.com for the link)

Rands In Repose: The Nerd Handbook: "A nerd needs a project because a nerd builds stuff. All the time. Those lulls in the conversation over dinner? That's the nerd working on his project in his head." (thanks to Jeff for the link)



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Painting with acrylics

I've posted a review of Lemongrass restaurant on blogTO, for those interested.

But on to the main topic of this Blathering...

So I was painting mini-canvases I found in Calgary for a Christmas ornament exchange (smaller canvases than the ones pictured above). I wasn't used to painting with real acrylics and was surprised at how much I enjoyed the experience. So I decided to try with 4"x 4" canvas boards I found in a local art store:




Trying to figure out how to hang them, I came up with the idea of turning them into fridge magnets by sticking a strip of magnetic tape on the back of each:



I figure they can also be displayed on mini-easels:



I only picked up two of these mini-easels when I was in Calgary and wish I had bought more. I'm currently looking for a source online where I can buy them in bulk.




I've also decided that I'm going to start occasionally (very occasionally) selling some of my handmade art in my spankin' new Etsy shop. As most of you know, I usually work in digital format. Every once in a while, though, I find it's fun to play around with real paints.

Painting with genuine acrylics instead of digital is an educational experience. There's no Undo or Delete, and the lack of digital layers means I have to plan things ahead of time much better. Anyway, I figure it's good for me to try this every once in a while.

While I had my acrylics out, I was suddenly overcome by a need to paint vines on part of my office wall:



That blue thing hanging to the left is my craft apron (I did that crazed face in fabric paint). To the right: my magnetic wall, which I created using magnetic paint.

You can see some other pics of my office in Flickr. Every so often, I'll go back and take a look at photos of the room BEFORE we moved in:



The bit of wall you see to the far right of the photo is the one I painted vines on. Wow. The space sure has changed since then.

Looking forward to going to the David Francey concert with Tom, Sue, Walter and Trish tonight. Apparently because we booked so early (thanks, Tom & Sue), we have the best seats in the house, woohoo!



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Royal Agricultural Winter Fair (and a RAWF cartoon)

I posted a report on the Royal Agriculture Winter Fair on blogTO last night after visiting it recently with my sister and my nieces.

I'm also starting to draw the occasional Toronto-themed cartoon, and created one specifically for my report. You can see my first and only cartoon about the Royal by scrolling down to the bottom of my Royal Winter Fair report on blogTO.

Check out this rabbit sculpted entirely out of butter:



See more pics (including one of Xena The Warrior Bunny) on blogTO.

Looking forward to going to Blade Runner: Final Cut with Jeff and Ray later today! If you're curious about how the original version, director's cut and final cut vary, and you don't mind spoilers, see this Globe & Mail article.

It doesn't sound as if there are many differences between the Final Cut and the Director's Cut, but hey...a chance to see Blade Runner in the theatre again? I can't resist.



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Letter of the Day

Busier than usual, hence the brevity of this Blathering.

My writing-related comics have been appearing every weekday on the National Novel Writing Month site this month, and just recently I received a great letter from one of the NaNoWriMo participants: you can read it here.

Also...

A few weeks ago, I wrote about my photographer friend, Iain Bradbury. Well, Iain has a professional Web site now, with help from my Web designer friend Ray! So do check out Iain Bradbury Photography when you have a chance.

I've also compiled a list of Holiday Gift Ideas For Writers, Librarians and Biliophiles.

Link O' The Day:

Mainly of interest to Canadians...

The Final Cost: this online calculator will help you estimate the final cost of purchasing items from the USA and having your order shipped to Canada. (Thanks to Ray for the link!)



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