tashina knight

What would you think if you were walking through the forest, came to a clearing and there in front of you was a rabbit girl swinging and dreaming? Would you sneak away quietly and leave her in peace? Or invite her for a picnic under the swirly trees?

This is a new little series of mine called “bubbles”. I tire of painting inside of rectangular boxes and wanted something a bit more fun. This is watercolor and pigment ink on watercolor paper. I’ll probably make a print of this one as soon as I order my printer.

I’m almost done with another bubble painting of tropical flowers and am also painting a sort of whimsical mandala.

And exciting news for me! I finally received my package from Taiwan with 8 DPI magazine issues. (I ordered 7, but they graciously enclosed a bonus issue, probably due to the 6 weeks it took to get my order.) The magazines are beautiful and all I hoped for. I’ll make another post - or maybe a series of them - next week to show you some photos.

I also wanted to show you all my mother’s new etsy shop: crystal pendant’s etsy shop

She makes knitted purses and is quite good at it. She’s been in Belle Armoire twice and she’ll have a fiber bead project in Step-by-Step beads - can’t remember if it’s this issue or the next. Will have to ask her.

I have a little toothache today. In my experience, big toothaches happen on Saturdays and little ones on Fridays. Since it’s little, you’d like to wait a day and see if it goes away. Then if it doesn’t go away, it’s a Saturday and you have to wait til Monday and then they make your appointment for Wednesday. Why do I never get toothaches on Mondays? :)  

When I was a kid, this cat painting by Gloria Vanderbuilt (a print of it) was always hanging on the walls of one of my mother’s many serial apartments. Now it bounces around in my consciousness. I’ve always been a dog person although I hold a soft spot in my heart for male siamese cats and their wonderful voices. For some reason, lately I’ve been drawing cats with large ears, long cats, all sorts of odd shaped cats. Here’s the latest watercolor cat.

I don’t envy him his breakfast!

I really need a better scanner. Or maybe a photo would have worked better. The colors were correct as scanned except the background which turned out orange. I photoshopped it til it was correct, but it still doesn’t capture the delicacy of the watercolors.

I’m a little aimless today. It’s raining for about the 30th straight day here in Austin. And I thought it was my hometown of San Diego that is supposed to get the June gloom! Last year here it was about 95 degrees from March -September. This year, it hasn’t gotten out of the 80’s much yet. I think the high today is 83. Everything is green. Here’s a few photos from around the house taken from the windows. The green grassy backyard. The veggies (tomatoes, radishes, carrots, beans, and watermelon). And the view from my front upstairs office window (just ignore that obnoxious light pole).

Just when I thought getting those magazines just wasn’t going to happen, I got some good news. I had ordered the magazines, had my card charged for the magazines but not the shipping and there things sat. I waited a couple weeks and emailed again and no answer. On June 25th, about a month after the original order, I decided I’d have to regretfully do a credit card dispute. I really wanted the magazines so decided to give it one last shot. I emailed them two different ways and this time a woman named Grace answered and was able to help me. It took a couple of emails because we were misunderstanding each other, but in the end I think they are sending out the magazines and I should get them sometime around the end of this week. I’m not quite sure what they are sending, but am pretty sure I’ll get 7 issues (maybe one duplicate) and that’s good enough for me. Funny thing is I ordered them for my birthday and it looks like I’ll get them around my best friend’s birthday which is lucky 07/07/07.

Here’s my latest blog to read - JaneVille. She lives in my hometown and her color sense is sooo much like mine that I love every thing she does almost instinctively.

I’m back. Turns out that when my mother left she also left me a bunch of stock from her old bead business to go through. I’ve been hip deep in sorting ever since. I’ve been giving away stuff left and right which is sooo satisfying. In the last week I’ve given away 2 boxes of Beanie Babies, one large altered art lot of dominoes and tiles (to a mosaic artist so I gave her a bunch of other stuff too), & all the display lights and tablecloths and bags from the business. I’ve been trying to give away a ton of magazines for free but have yet to successfully get someone to pick them up. Next is a kiln, CD changer, huge cutting mat, and a sewing machine if I can figure out which one of the two to keep. Suppose I’ll have to sell that though. I have an old solid Bernina 830 and a newer Babylock Ellure I was given. I like the new shiny computerized one, but the Bernina has the knee lift which I love. I actually only sew a few times a year so I need to get rid of one or other other.

Oh yeah, back to the subject of my post. I’m going to issue another bold proclamation. I am going back to the beginning with my art. I didn’t start young like many artists do. I have a few half-hearted art attempts from childhood, but I actually bought my first art supplies at 27 years old. I am 43 now.

I had lots of fun with art when I started. I had never heard the word archival so didn’t worry about alcohol based markers and acid-free papers. I just bought some paint, canvases, pens, and paper and started in. I got lost along the way. I had an ex that was an accomplished realist artist that had been drawing since he was a wee thing and was voted most artistic in high school. He had done gallery shows of his horse paintings. I was just learning perspective and he never had a nice thing to say about my art. Took me 4 long years to figure that he was the sort of person who could only feel better by knocking people down.

During that whole time period, I stopped doing what I loved and searched for something that I could be “good” at. Not just merely good actually, but more like instantaneously talented which would have been the only thing that would have satisfied him. I got books on basket making, quilting, enameling. You name it and I tried it or poured over the books and pondered it.  And I lost a lot of good years feeling bad about my art.  During that time, I also collected a lot of supplies. If I’m going to be a superstar quilter, can’t do that without a ton of fabric and a sewing machine, right? So I’d focus on accumulating whatever it took to try that artform and then at some point, I’d move on to the next thing because my heart wasn’t really in it. So for the last 10 years or so I’ve been totally weighed down by the thought that I need to use all these things that I don’t really love.

What do I love? A blank piece of paper and some markers. Alcohol based non-archival markers. So there. :)  But now,  I wouldn’t see the originals. I can scan them and sell prints though. I also love acrylic painting and watercolors too. Watercolors are one good thing I’ve found in my searching. I also love little sculptural things. So I’m going to have some paperclay around and maybe take some ceramics classes someday. I’m going to keep my papers and rhinestones and all my treasured mixed media stuff. Everything else goes. It’s just cluttering my mind.

I have to wonder why I still have a beading kiln and a hot head torch and supplies when I haven’t made a lampwork bead in 10 years. (I used to sell lampworked jewelry in San Diego galleries). Why do I have 200 fat quarters of fabric when I’ve never made a quilt and probably won’t? Why do I have 5 enameling books when I’ve never enameled?

The drawing above is just a little doodle I did 15 years ago and scanned into the computer to color way back when. Back when I drew to please myself instead of an ex or some unknown audience. Back to basics. That’s where I’m going.

There won’t be a lot of posting for a week or so while my mom is in town. We’ll be going down to San Antonio and maybe wandering the Hill Country a little. Will try to get some photos. Hope everyone is having a productive week.

Just listened to the free song for the week on iTunes and really liked it. It’s Jarhand from a band I hadn’t heard of called Immaculate Machine.  Sort of alterna-pop but with a smooth folky singer. Give it a try!

Give a listen to The Essex Green while you’re there. A bit Weepies-like but with their own vibe.

I had been working on this one back in November but didn’t like the face so I reworked it this afternoon.

This is part of my effort to clear a few unfinished things off the desktop. This spring the theme is “clear it out”. I have probably given away/recycled 300 pounds of art related materials so far. Sold some books on Amazon (note to artists - occasionally take a look to see if any of the books you don’t want anymore are out of print. Sometimes they sell for $2, some times for $80!).

The best thing I’ve done so far is to give away my whole collection on Bead & Button magazine to a new beader. I put them on Craigslist and she and her husband came to get them on Saturday. We had lots in common as did her husband and mine and we all talked for several hours. New friends! She reminded me a little of Jordin Sparks on American Idol - in the looks and the sparkly personality. Lots of fun.

I also actually cooked this weekend which is unheard of. Confession- I have a terrible diet. I eat Top Ramen for breakfast at least every other day. I’ve been trying to eat healthier to encourage my husband who is on a heart healthy diet. I thought I’d try 2 little stir frys so there would be one left if I ruined the other.

Here’s my effort and both were good! One is Indian curry potatoes and cauliflower - I mixed a tablespoon of water and a teaspoon of margarine in the pan and added about 1/2 teaspoon of madras curry powder and 1/4 teaspoon of tumeric. I then added one large potato in chunks. I cooked on medium heat stirring often for about 7 minutes then I added some cauliflower and chopped red onion (should have added the onion at the beginning but didn’t think of it). Cook another 7 minutes and it’s all done.

The other is fresh asparagus and chicken with lemon and garlic. With this one I cut up a chicken breast into bite size pieces and put it in the pan with a little tiny bit of margarine. After 3 minutes, I added chopped asparagus and red onion and one cherry tomato from the garden (that’s all there was this early in the season. In a few weeks we’ll be giving baskets of tomoatoes to the neighbors). Then I threw in a few squeezes of lemon from the plastic yellow lemon and some chopped garlic. I cooked all of this in an Ikea Grilla to get the grill marks.

My husband gave it all rave reviews and life was good.

This one didn’t take me much thought at all. My paradise is wherever the sun is. A sunny day, a blue sky, warm breezes. That’s what makes me happy.

We have the opportunity to move to Portland. I think of how many artists live there or are from there, Judy and Kelly for example. I think of how many art galleries and events take place there and I will myself to be able to make the move. I just don’t think I’d survive the winters though. A week without sun starts to make me a little crazy. My poor husband lived with me for a year in the Bay Area in 2004 and would come home every winter day to The Wife Of Gloom. Ha.

Arizona, Palm Springs, Southern California. That’s my paradise.

Where’s your paradise?

Happy weekend!

Wish I had that MacKenzie Childs cake! ( I believe this one is from Colette’s Cakes)

I’m not sure what to think of being 43. Seems each year brings a new theme. 41 was the year where everything I worried about turned out not to be a problem. All my problems were things I had neglected to worry about! 42 was the year of every appointment with anyone turning into several more appointments. I’m hoping that 43 is the Year of the Excellent Opportunities, or the Year of The Perfect Vacation. Think big!

I didn’t do anything big for my birthday (Tuesday). My husband is on night shift which makes it hard to do much during the week. Maybe we’ll go out this weekend. My best birthday present is one I’ll have to wait a little while for. Remember the crocheted hat in this post that I was swooning over? She’s making me a similar one! She thinks it’ll take about 150 little flowers. What a great mom I have.

I’ve still been a little scattered art-wise. I’m thinking of restricting myself to one or two styles for the rest of the year. That’s what Carla Sondheim did and it seems to be working for her. I can see why it’s hard for people to follow what I’m doing when it’s an acrylic painting one day and a totally different style of computer illustration the next. Do any of the rest of you have trouble like that? I just have so many things I love and I jump from one to the next to the next.

In other news, I still have the original charge for $50 on my Visa card for the DPI magazine. No shipping charges have been added and no emails to suggest they shipped. Guess it’s wait and see.

My mother is vacationing in  Palm Springs this week - only a one hour drive from her house actually, but it is a change of pace. She’s making me jealous because Palm Springs/Rancho Mirage is one of my favorite places. There’s a wonderful street there with an grassy island in the middle and all the way along it there are fun sculptures. Coda Gallery, one of my all time favorite craft galleries is there and so are a number of j.jill type stores. I think it’s about time for my husband and I to take a vacation. He’s had some heath issues this year taking up his vacation time, but he’s been given a clean bill of health at this time so maybe it’s time to start thinking of a trip. We definitely should at least explore the Hil Country more.

Don’t laugh (at least not where I can see you).
I’ve never drawn in Photoshop before. I thought I’d take a basic photo from the web (below) and work from it since I’ve also never drawn a car before - not once. I almost passed on IF this week, and then I decided to stretch a little and learn something new.

I didn’t really want to draw a boy; I’m in a girl phase. Up until a year or so ago, I was mostly doing abstract art and stick figures. I’ve “graduated” to real illustrative faces, but I don’t claim to be good yet. I’m getting better and that’s all I can ask.

In the end, I feel like I learned a little something. And I feel better about it that when I post something I did a year or more ago.

For other beginners: I just opened the photo in Photoshop. I then clicked on Layer, then New and did all the drawing on the second layer. I actually even started a layer three for making guide lines on the face for where the eyes and nose should go. Then I just unclicked the eye next to Layers 1 an 3 before I saved the final. Probably my biggest problem is that I had the resolution of the original image so low that I couldn’t really draw the face. I had to increase the image size and that made my pen lines even more jaggy. That was my other mistake. I drew the car outline with the pen tool and everything else in the brush tool. I should have just started with the pen tool.

Happy weekend, everyone.